Servant of her Pain
by Esnapand
Summary: Forced by the mad wizard Halaster young tiefling ranger Chathi Fezim found herself on a quest to end the thread of a drow invasion. But under the surface, she realizes that at the end all that matters is the quest for her identity. !UPDATED!
1. 1: No Turning Back

**Author's Notes:** First of all, I bow before every writer who already worked with the plot of Hordes of the Underdark. I spent quite a few hours on reading some of your fanfics and it always was time well spent. Thank you for this. Though I don't know if the tale I have to tell will stand the comparison to your tales, I hope that some will find it entertaining at least.  
That said, I'd like to point out that, like most of the writers here, I use the story of Hordes of the Underdark merely as a plot outline for my own tale. The great plus of fanfiction is that there is no limit to storytelling, except my own fantasy. Let us see where my borders are. If I leave the trails of the original plot, please follow me. That, and the characters we use in our tales are what makes every tale different from the other.  
Finally, there is the matter of my character: Chathi Fezim. She was my first character I've played in the pen and paper version of Dungeons and Dragons and thus I ached for using her in this tale. Roughly characterized, she is a tiefling, like Valen. But unlike him she is of devilish heritage. She is also a ranger and an evil one as well. If you like her, I will be most grateful. If you hate her, that's a sign of a characterization not as bad. As long as you have any feelings toward her, I am glad.  
Before I release you from my ramblings and let you read the fiction, I'd like to say that I like constructive criticism. It helps me improve my writings and is much appreciated. Thank you very much for reading.  
**Disclaimer:** Hordes of the Underdark and all characters except Chathi Fezim and Fah are owned by Bioware Corp. Forgotten Realms is owned by Wizards of the Coast. 

**_Servant of her Pain_**

**Chapter 1: No Turning Back**

Oh, she never became familiar with the teleportation spells. Not that she was part of them occasionally. But during the time she spent in Undermountain she certainly didn't grow fond on them. Every time she stepped through one of the bright shimmering, circular portals she despised the feeling of being turned up side down, making her feel sick and wishing to never leave firm ground beneath her feet again.

This time, however, proved much different. Still, she felt the gentle tug of the geas spell, tugging on her very soul, making her more uncomfortable than any teleportation spell would have ever been able to. She felt betrayed, used and utterly disappointed. And more than anything else, she felt her hatred against wizardry and its wielders grow beyond reason.

Then, as suddenly as it got a grip on her, the teleportation spell released her, throwing her into very unfamiliar surroundings, placing her gently in front of a slender, most beautiful drow female. Silvery white hair surrounded the delicate features of the dark figure, her red eyes glowing with a certain measure of gentleness. Left and right of the female several other, mostly male, drow stood, seeming alarmed. Behind the female drow loomed the menacing statue of an elven-spider hybrid.

"So that's how it is." Chathi remarked dryly after she found her bearings again, her hands searching for her weapons, still not really recovered from the effects of the spell.

The drow behind the female reached for the weapons, now obviously alarmed, but the female raised her right hand, bidding the others to stop. They didn't release their weapons, however.

"Leave your weapons where they are, I beg you. There is nothing you have to fear." Her voice was pleasant, though a bit deep. And, to Chathi's surprise, she spoke the common tongue perfectly. Unlike Chathi, who never got accustomed to this language.

"You speak Common." She replied with her own, very slow tongue, trying desperately not to stumble over the words so foreign to her. "And better than I ever could." She added after a moment of silence.

Her words were regarded with a slight smile and Chathi finally let go of her weapons. Somehow she felt that there would be no need to draw her blades. At least for the moment. The female drow in front of her nodded with approval, turning to someone standing on Chathi's left.

"Nathyrra, you have finally returned. I'm very pleased to see that you're well." The look on her face was one of obvious relief. Turning to her left, Chathi saw that Nathyrra, the dark elf she met in Undermountain, had indeed been teleported as well by Halaster. Just as he promised.

"Mother Seer, it is good to see you again." Nathyrra responded with a bow, signalling Chathi that this friendly drow was someone very important here. "The mad wizard Halaster has been freed and there is no way to the surface for the army of the Valsharess. At least, if they want to go through Undermountain."

The Seer nodded with a relieved smile. "This is good news, Nathyrra. You have done quite well and can be proud of it. Please, rest for a while, you most certainly earned it."

"Thank you, Seer." With another bow and a brief nod to Chathi Nathyrra left the room, leaving Chathi alone in this uncomfortable setting. And uncomfortable she felt, indeed. But then she felt something furry and warm touching her right hand, trying to get her attention. Looking for the source of it, Chathi almost cried out in surprise and delight. Next to her stood her faithful animal companion Fah, a strong leopard with well defined muscles. She had feared that the leopard had not been sent along with the spell, but dared to hope when she saw Nathyrra. This was all she could hope for and it made her a bit more certain for the things to come. And so she braced herself and turned back to the Seer.

"So Nathyrra decided to contact you, as it seems. And it also seems that she made the right decision, considering where you are right now. Please, let me introduce myself. I am called the Seer, priestess of Our Lady Eilistraee and leader of this small, but faithful band of rebels. You are amongst friends, I assure you." The Seer smiled her gentle smile again and Chathi felt that she relaxed. Maybe things were going up now, after all.

"I am very pleased to meet you and I sincerely apologize for threatening you with my weapons. Have I known that you are a priestess, it wouldn't have come to this." Chathi bowed deep and when she straightened again she avoided looking directly at the Seer. "My name is Chathi Fezim, I am a ranger who hails from Mulhorand. And this," she pointed at the leopard at her side, "is my companion Fah. If you need our service, please don't hesitate asking. My weapons are yours." Bowing again she lowered her gaze to the floor.

On her chin she felt a cool hand and when she looked back up, she saw the Seer, still smiling, lifting her head with a gentle push on her chin. "Don't be so formal. Whatever you were taught concerning priests doesn't matter in this situation. I am quite grateful that Halaster sent you down here, though his reasons are yet unknown to me. However, I intend to take your offer for granted, because there really is something we need your help with." The black elf pulled away her hand brushed a strand of her white hair from her face. "I guess Nathyrra told you about the Valsharess and her threat."

Chathi nodded, forcing herself to look at the Seer's face. "It seems this isn't just another surface raid. She aspires to something bigger and I imagine Waterdeep is just the beginning. But Halaster took care of this problem. The way through Waterdeep is blocked, though there are many other ways to get to the surface."

The Seer sighed heavily. "So you are familiar with the intentions of the drow and the occasional raids."

Again, Chathi nodded. "I've seen them a lot. Coming to the surface, slaying elves and retreating back to the Underdark. Although there aren't many elves where I live."

"You must understand that the followers of Eilistraee are different from them. All we want is peace and an escape from the teachings of Lolth. We left the surface and returned to the Underdark in order to stop the Valsharess. Once she expands to the surface of Toril there will be no peace for us, either. Our Lady Eilistraee bade us to stop her and thus we fight our battles. But we are small and we need help. Your help." The smile returned, but it was weak this time.

Burying her hands in the thick fur of Fah's neck, Chathi pondered a moment, before responding. "Whatever will be the cost, I am bound to the task of stopping the Valsharess. Halaster placed a geas on me and thus forcing me to defeat the Valsharess, once and for all. Until that is done, I cannot return to where I belong."

The dark elven priestess looked stricken at these words. The relief formerly shining from her red eyes was replaced by some kind of pity, or sadness. "I knew Halaster was mad but I've never imagined that he was capable of doing something like this." She shook her head slightly as to try to shake some unpleasant thoughts off of her. "But now your cause and ours are entwined and there is no turning back now. For neither of us. I am sad that that's the way it is and I would gladly take the geas away from you, but I fear I cannot, and I am quite sorry for that. It seems that the only way to break the geas is in defeating the Valsharess."

Again, Chathi nodded.

"It won't be an easy task." the Seer continued. "Though I do not know how she did it, the Valsharess has a powerful ally. An arch devil of the Nine Hells, you have to understand."

At these words, Chathi visible stiffened.

"Considering your heritage, this wouldn't be easy for you." The Seer mustered Chathi a long time, carefully pondering her next words.

As did Chathi. Her heritage. Unconsciously, she reached up with her right hand and traced her black, forked horn, marking her as what she was: a tiefling, a planetouched and a descendant from the Hells. Her mind whirled, thinking back to her childhood, to her human father telling her of her mother. An Erinyes, a striking beautiful, female devil, to whom her father fell in love with, oblivious of her true nature. And now, over twenty years later, Chathi might stumble over some difficulties because of that heritage.

"You're of devilish heritage, aren't you?" The Seer asked softly and Chathi nodded. "Maybe," the Seer continued, "we find a way that you don't have to deal with the arch devil himself. We must discover how he is bound to the Valsharess and whether we can use this knowledge for our cause. But," she took a step back from Chathi, rising to her full height, "there are even other beings allied to the Valsharess. Beings you might be able to deal with. Nathyrra will help you with this, I am sure. And I think I can send you another one to be of aid. Nathyrra's taking a rest, I assume, and I need to talk to someone. Maybe this is a good time for you to rest as well. You must be tired and in need for a bit of peace." The gentle smile returned and Chathi nodded.

"It will be much needed, I think." The tiefling looked at the Seer, locked the gaze of the Seer with hers. "Be that I will do everything I could. Your fight became mine as well."

The drow priestess nodded, obviously relieved. She waved for another drow, asking him to show Chathi a room she might rest in.

Chathi followed him gladly.

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The room she was assigned to was small and dark, but the mattress proved more comfortable than anything she had known in the past months. Or in all her life, Chathi thought. Besides the bed the only piece of furniture in the room was a dresser, crafted from bluish black stone, with beautiful patterns carved into its surface. A similar chest stood next to it on the floor. Light blue fairie fires danced on the walls, providing the only source of light in this chamber. It was a soft hue, nothing compared to the bright light of torches. However, it might be all the sensible eyes of the drow could bear. It didn't bother Chathi, who could see in the dark, just like the drow if only half as well. But it was enough.

She stretched on the mattress, thinking about the arch devil the Seer mentioned. There were nine Lords, she knew, one for each hell. But she didn't know all of them. Names came to her mind. Dispater, Lord of the Second, Belial and Fierna, the Lords of the Fourth, Baalezebul, Lord of the Seventh. And, of course, Asmodeus, the Lord of the Ninth, the archfiend and overlord of all of them.

Chathi shuddered. If the Valsharess was allied with Asmodeus, there was nothing she could do. He was the master of all the devils, even of half-breeds like Chathi. When it would come to her facing Asmodeus, all she could do would be obeying him. That wouldn't be much of a help for the Seer and the rebels. Not that she cared for the rebels, but there were certain things why she fought on their side.

First, of course, the geas. They had a common foe. She had to defeat the Valsharess and she might as well do it with the help of some rebels. Or she might help the rebels with the defeating. It didn't matter.

Another matter was her loyalty. The Seer was a priestess and most important thing Chathi ever learned in her life as a citizen of Mulhorand was to be loyal to the clergy. She respected priests and clerics, no matter which deity they serve. The only beings she respected more were dragons. But this was another thing. All that mattered right now was ending the threat the Valsharess posed. Then she could go back to her former life. And her former tasks.

A loud knock at the door tore her from her thoughts, emitting a low growl from Fah, who was curled up on the floor next to the bed. Chathi jumped to the door, crossing the small distance with two long strides, and opened it without a second thought.

On the other side of the door stood a huge man, his skin of a colour as pale as Chathi's, his hair a fierce red and his eyes of the clearest blue Chathi had ever seen. Not even the water of the Sea of Swords was this blue. She only looked briefly at his face, locking her stare at the two goat-like horns on his head. They weren't black like hers. His were of a range of brown town, ranging from lighter to very deep ones. This man was a tiefling, just like her. And it was the first tiefling she'd ever seen, besides herself.

"The Seer was right, I see now. There is another tiefling in our ranks. Not the best choice of powerful allies, I fear." His voice was deep and hostile, with a slight growl underneath.

"Excuse me?" Chathi replied after a second, searching frantically for the right words and the right language.

"Baatezu!" he spat, obviously disgusted.

For Chathi, it was all she needed to understand. This, too, was a tiefling, but it was another kind than her.

"You're part demon," she reasoned, though she still didn't understand the hostility towards her. "and you have a problem with my own heritage. Which I don't understand, mind you."

The other tiefling raised one of his fierce red eyebrows, his muscular arms crossing in front of his broad chest. He seemed surprised by her words. "Doesn't it bother you that I am demon? Because it surely bothers me what you are."

Chathi pondered for a moment. Was she bothered? Yes, she felt angry because he was being hostile without even knowing her. But his own heritage didn't matter to her. "No, I don't care," she finally replied, staring up at him with her angry red eyes, forcing herself not to budge because of his height and strength, "but it enrages me that you dare to judge me because I am baatezu and you are tanar'ri. We're all on the same side here!" Her voice rose at the last words, making the other tiefling retreat a step, looking even more surprised. Groping for the handle of the door she took a step backwards as well. With the words "Come back if you are ready to talk properly," she slammed the door shut, leaving her male and demonic counterpart standing on the other side.

With a loud sigh she let herself fall back on her mattress, burying her face into the soft pillow.

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Sleep came fast but dreams troubled her in her slumber. Small excerpts of the last day, the rescue of Halaster, the placing of the geas, the meeting with the Seer and the male tiefling. Nothing bad, but the worst dream came last, awakening her with a stifled scream. For long moments she stared into the darkness, lightened by the blue fairie fires. The pictures of her last dream haunted her for minutes, the huge figure of Asmodeus who visited her, demanding of her that she freed him. In a large, dark chamber he stood before her, twice as tall as she was, his dark red skin reflecting the soft lights dancing around him, his red eyes looking at her, drawing her to him. In her dream, she was quite intrigued, wishing she could join him in the Ninth Hell, being one of his loyal servants.

She shook her head violently. It was just a dream, nothing to worry about. Well, not until she discovered which arch devil the Valsharess sided with. If it wasn't Asmodeus, she might have a small chance. A very small chance, but a chance, at least.

Slowly, her eyes got accustomed to the darkness. Fah was still asleep and made no sound except the deep breaths she took. Her peace spread out to Chathi, letting her feel comfortable again.

Patting Fah's back she wondered what time it was. She didn't feel tired. So instead of getting back to sleep she decided to stay awake, spending the time with praying to her god Set. Something she neglected during the past days.

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"You've already met Valen, I presume."

Chathi nodded, throwing a grim look at the male tiefling who harassed her the previous day. At least she knew his name now. Valen Shadowbreath. A most fitting name, considering his behaviour at their first meeting.

The demonic tiefling stood at the Seer's side, his look as grim as Chathi's. He had donned heavy armour the colour of emerald, in a slope at the side of his belt a heavy flail had found it's place. His fierce red hair was tied to a pony tail at the back of his head, making his goat-like horns quite visible.

"I asked him that he accompanies you on your quest. There are few places he has knowledge of, but these few you must pay a visit. He will tell you of these places and helps you in every way he can, I assure you."

"But what of Nathyrra? Will she come, too?" Chathi asked.

The Seer shook her head. "She has her own duties to attend. There is much to do and less time. We need to prepare for the battle against the Valsharess and though I really need Valen here, I feel that you might need him even more."

To the Seer's side, Valen looked quite disappointed. Chathi shuddered. Dragging this angry tiefling with her was one thing, but she feared that the fact that he'll have to leave fuelled his anger only the more. Travelling in his company would be a hard time, indeed.

"I will do what you want me to, that I promise you. We will return safe and sound and with good news. Prepare for the battle and leave the rest to us. We will take care of it." Chathi bowed low and without another look at the Seer or Valen, she turned and left the temple of Lolth, where the Seer found refuge.

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"This is Lith My'athar, the home of House Mae'virr. It is the safest place we could find for the moment being. I guess here you will find everything you need. Merchants, a smith and two public houses. Don't expect to be treated nicely, however. With the followers of Eilistraee and the members of House Mae'virr suspense is building. The appearance of another tiefling won't be taken lightly, I think."

"I need some potions." She said without further ado, walking away from Valen and turning around the temple, heading for the merchants. It didn't take much time for her to find an alchemist and she bought some healing potions, placing them into the loops on her potion belt. "You need some as well?" she asked Valen without looking at him.

"I have my own, thank you." He replied dryly. Chathi paid and left, Valen close behind her. She led them straight to the end of the cavern Lith My'athar was built in, halting in front of a firm natural wall, where no one else besides them was to be seen. There she leant against the wall, looking at Valen without putting any emotions into her eyes.

"We need to talk." She announced, shrugging of her backpack and placing it between her feet. Her leopard companion gave a short growl and lay down on the ground.  
Valen crossed his arms in front of her, his look firm but questioning. "What's the matter, devil?"

Chathi sighed. This quest wouldn't be an easy one. "I have a name. It is Chathi and I would like you to call me that. I hate it when you call me devil all the time." Her speech was slow and deliberate. She rarely spoke to others on her travels outside Mulhorand and though she left her home almost three years ago she still haven't mastered the Common tongue. Valen was perfect at it and her slow way of speaking let her look rather unintelligent. "You do not speak Infernal, do you?" She asked without hope.

"Of course not."

Chathi nodded. Of course. At least he will be superior in this matter, for the moment. Fine. But maybe it gave her time to practise her Common some more. "The Seer mentioned you know of some places we might need to visit. Please, tell me everything you know."

Valen glared at her, but didn't comply. "There are many islands in this area. Two in particular might be of interest to us. The first because some mysterious city appeared there some time ago, almost over night. Nobody heard about this before and it might be worth further investigating it. The second island is the home of an ancient Duergar sorcerer called the Maker. He spent all his life creating golems and although no one heard of him in quite a time there is a small possibility that we will find aid over there. Either golems themselves or even the sorcerer willing to help us. However, I do not hope that the Valsharess's forces thought the same."

Chathi listened to his words, pondering them. A town appearing over night on an island? She certainly never heard of something like this. And an ancient Duergar sorcerer creating golems all his life? She sincerely hoped that this sorcerer wasn't alive anymore. "How will we reach these islands?"

Valen smiled vaguely at her. "There is a small harbour in Lith My'athar. Though there is only one boat and one boatman. And this one is quite… strange, to say the least. His name is Cavallas. Even I get the chills in his presence. But it seems he is the only one capable of travelling the river."

An eyebrow raised, Chathi looked at him. "Why is that so? What's wrong with that river?"

"It is poisonous. And the key to the defences of Lith My'athar. No one can cross the river, except Cavallas and his boat."

Chathi's mouth went open but Valen interrupted her. "Don't ask me why. I don't know and I'm fairly sure that nobody else might know, besides Cavallas herself."

At this, Chathi merely nodded and took her pack up. "Then let us go at once, I wouldn't waste any more time."

With an approving nod, Valen followed her to the harbour and the mysterious boatman.

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Valen was right. Cavallas was indeed very strange. A tall, black figure he was, nothing else. If he was even male. Chathi couldn't figure. His black hood was pulled into his face and one might try as hard as one could, there was no way to catch a glimpse of his face. Chathi felt quite unnerved in his presence.

"You're Cavallas, right?" She asked, her voice flat.

The figure nodded. "I knew you would come." His voice was croaky and a little bit metallic. Chathi and Valen both shuddered slightly.

Ignoring his statement, Chathi pressed further. She really wasn't interested in his intentions or why he knew of her arrival. Getting away from this unnerving creature was everything she wanted. "You can take me to these islands, I know."

He gave a nod and again spoke in his croaky voice. "Do you need more information on these islands?"

The woman firmly shook her head. "Just take me to these islands. As quick as you can."

Maybe she erred, but Chathi thought she heard Cavallas chuckle under his hood. Fah pressed her torso against her left leg, reassuring her. "I wish you to take us to the Island of the maker."

"As you wish." Cavallas croaked, motioning for them to get on board. Hesitating at first, Chathi followed Valen who made the first move, Fah close behind.

The Seer was right. There was no turning back now.


	2. 2: Expectations and Disappointments

**Author's notes:** First of all, thanks for your reviews. I nearly fainted because I always fear my stories are bad. They mean much to me, thank you.  
However, while uploading and fiddling on the second chapter I discovered that the layout of the first (and probably the second) chapter was screwed up by messing around with the paragraphs, etc. probably making it difficult to read. I tried to fix it, hopefully it works. Sorry for the inconvenience.  
But now, back to the tale! 

**Chapter 2: Expectations and Disappointments**

The boat travelled slowly through the water, Cavallas nowhere to be seen. At the railing at the front of the boat Chathi stood, entertaining thoughts of the battles to come.

She thought of the other tiefling, Valen, and how he would fit in all of this. He didn't trust her, that much was obvious. But would his distrust play a major role in future battles? What would happen if she would be engaged in a heated fight and her defences toward him were only minor? She didn't like the thought of having this huge flail of his meeting with her head. How could she trust someone so obsessed with her infernal heritage?

She shook her head, trying to free herself from these disturbing thoughts. The Seer send her on this quest and she send Valen as well. The priestess must had been sure that Valen would not kill her, else this trip was destined to fail. But what if the Seer wanted to see Chathi dead? No. If she wanted to get rid of the ranger, there were several other methods. But why was this Valen so annoyed about her heritage? She wasn't bothered by his abyssal side. Not in the slightest. When she first saw him, standing in her door, she even was pleasantly surprised. She had never seen another one of her kind. Even now she wanted so desperately talk to him, ask him everything about his past life. Where was he born? In Mulhorand, as well? In Thay even? Maybe he was born into slavery and fled in a heroic escape, slaying dozens of Red Wizards, freeing as many other tieflings as he could.

She glanced at the warrior standing on the other side of the boat. He sure looked capable of such a heroic act, with his shining green armour and his proud behaviour. Yes, there was something proud and honourable about him, how he stood there, tall and straight. Much different then herself.

With a sigh, she went back to her fantasies. It even was possible that he wasn't from the old empires in the east of Faerûn at all. A distant country, perhaps? Or even another plane? That would be very interesting. How would he be, growing up in another plane than the material? Did he came from the Abyss? No, she couldn't imagine that. However, if he was part demon, he had a huge advantage when it would come to a fight with an arch devil. Compared to her, at least.

Behind her, she heard slow footsteps on the deck. "We are almost there," Valen said, coming to a halt to her right.

Chathi wanted to say something, but nothing came to her mind. It was blank. Somehow she felt very uncomfortable in his presence. If her fantasy concerning Valen and the freeing of other tiefling slaves proved to be true, he was pretty much different from her. She, who never freed anyone.

"If the Maker is still alive, we will meet a powerful, magic-wielding adversary."

Chathi nodded.

"Hopefully you are prepared for this kind of fight." Valen stared down at her, his eyes two pools of whirling blue. Chathi felt very much absorbed by his stare.

"I have fought sorcerers before." She finally replied weakly. Her last encounter with a wizard, however, came to a fatal result. Being here, in the Underdark, was enough proof to her. "Are there many wizards and sorcerers where you came from?" she mumbled quickly, still replying his stare, hoping he did not understand her.

"That depends which place you mean. Where I was born? Where I stayed the last years?"

He understood her. Damn. With a shrug, the ranger tore her look from Valen's, turning around and slowly walked away. "It doesn't matter," she said over her shoulder, not daring to look back.

Valen just stood there, looking quite puzzled, mustering the ranger leaving the boat.

She was smaller than he, smaller and thinner. Almost fragile, he mused. How she was able to fight properly, he could only wonder. Her light lavender-coloured hair shimmered slightly in the faint glow which spent the only light down here. It was so pale, only her skin was paler. The bluish-black fabric of her light armour was a stark contrast compared to her skin and her. And what was that with all the spikes protruding from the shoulder-pads, bracers and boots? It sure let her look a bit vicious. Not to mention her glowing red eyes.

Valen shuddered slightly. She reminded him of a vampire.

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The boat landed some minutes after their short conversation. When Chathi, Valen and Fah left for the island, Cavallas already stood on land, staring into emptiness. Chathi didn't even bother asking him where he had been during the trip. Valen was right. Cavallas was a strange creature and she felt on the safer side when avoiding him altogether.

She looked around. There wasn't much to see, only rocks, stony walls and some cliffs. Between two sharp, pointed rocks she could make out a slope heading slightly upwards. Despite that, there was nowhere else to go. She went into a crouch, searching for tracks on the dusty ground. If there were any, the heat of them was already gone, leaving nothing for her to see with her darkvision. She nudged Fah in the side. "Go and look around if you find something." With a low growl the leopard sped of and got out of sight in moments.

"There is not much where that one can hide." Valen remarked, his eyes following the leaving leopard.

He was right, Chathi knew. But at least Fah was silent and it didn't matter that the pattern of her fur was quite noticeable in this grey surroundings. There was no light down here, only darkness and the heat, which most creatures living in the Underdark could see with the help of darkvision.

"She will return soon, I am sure. Fah is quite capable." But still, she took her longbow from her back. "You should be prepared, however. Just in case."

With a grim nod, he took the flail from his belt and readied himself.

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They waited. Minutes passed and Chathi got quite anxious. There was no sign of Fah and the nervous movements coming from Valen's tail made her left eye twitch. Normally, Fah would not let herself catch that easily.

"Do you know just how big this island is?" she asked without looking at Valen.

He shrugged. "I've never been here. But islands in the Underdark usually are not that big. Are you worried?" There was a kind of mischievous tone in his voice, but Chathi ignored it. She truly was worried about her faithful leopard. The tail of Valen lashed from one side to the other. It looked playful to Chathi, which confused her.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked, slightly annoyed. He didn't listen, focusing on something else, which annoyed her even more. "Hey, I am talking to you!" Still, Valen didn't react. Breathing heavily she took four angry steps toward him, shoving him hard. "I am talking to you and I expect an answer!" she cried, her red eyes glowing fiercely. In response, Valen quickly put a gloved hand over her mouth, motioning to her to be quiet without looking at her. With her free hand she grasped his tightly, clawing at it. Within a moment his face was very close to hers.

"Be quiet, devil, just for a moment" he hissed. Chathi stopped clawing at his hand, staring furiously at the warrior. "I've heard something coming our way. Ready yourself." His hand was gone in an instant and Valen lifted his flail. Shaking the anger from her, Chathi raised her bow, aiming at the darkness without pulling the string.

There was silence for some moments, neither of them daring to breathe. Then, suddenly, something flashed to the right. Chathi whirled around, her fingers tugging slightly at the string. But she released instantly when she saw Fah padding toward her.

"Fah!" she gasped, lowering her bow, kneeling down and embracing the leopard in a tight hug. To her left, Valen relaxed at the sight of the huge cat, but still he listened into the darkness.

"Had she seen something?" he asked with a doubtful look.

"A moment," Chathi mumbled, then she fell into spellcasting. Her right hand glowed in a faint light and she touched her throat with it. Valen watched her, listening to her while she talked to the leopard in an animalistic tongue he would never understand. After a minute the ranger stood up again and put her bow back.

"You're able to cast spells? I thought you are a ranger." He wondered, staring at her glowing throat.

"Rangers receive some spells from nature, compared to divine spells. They are only of minor power and I don't know much of them. But they are quite helpful, especially in the wilds. And if you want to talk to animals. Even you can have a talk with Fah." The edges of her mouth curled upwards to a smile, revealing two very sharp and pointed teeth. To Valen, she looked like a vampire again. He felt a chill running down his spine.

"There is an encampment of duergars up the hills behind some tall rocks. The have weapons and look capable of battle, but some of them seem to be merchants. According to Fah they are not hostile altogether, but I think we should kill them nevertheless. Duergar is duergar. I don't want them to get in our way when we're looking for the Maker." While she talked Chathi took her weapons from her belt. A finely crafted khophesh appeared in her right hand with a golden blade and a plain hilt; it looked like a longsword but about a foot from the hilt the blade suddenly turned sickle-shape. From a sheath at the back of her belt she took a black-bladed shortsword, the blade bearing sharp edges, like teeth. It looked like it was able to tear pieces of skin and flesh from its opponent with every slash.

An evil weapon, Valen mused. Fitting perfectly. "I do not think we should kill them without even talking to them."

Chathi turned back, looking puzzled. "They are evil and they deserve death." The words sounded as if it was an obvious fact.

"I would say the same about you, but still I put my suspicions aside and attempt to look behind your façade." If it could, his voice would drip with acid.

Chathi raised a brow, tapping the blade of her khophesh against her the side of her boot. "Well, that's a very nice thing to say. Thank you." The irony was unmistakable. "So you intend that we have a nice chat with them. Maybe they even offer us some tea."

"What I try to say is that even the duergar will fall before the Valsharess. Perhaps there is a way of making them allies."

Well, that seemed plausible. Even to Chathi. The tapping of blade against boot stopped and with a quiet sigh she nodded. "You're right. Let us talk to them, first."

Sheathing her weapons she started for the slope, not even looking back to make sure that Valen followed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No."

"But why?" Chathi cried. "She is your enemy as well!"

The duergar female defensively raised her hands, palms toward the tieflings. "We don't want to fight against the Valsharess and her army. She did not threaten us."

Valen smiled grimly. "And of course once she rules all the Underdark she still wouldn't bother with the likes of you."

Chathi nodded. "You're awfully naïve, grey dwarf."

The dwarven female only shrugged. "There is no way I would ally myself with drow. Or tieflings, for that matter."

Chathi sighed. Once again here heritage came into her way. "Listen, foolish dwarf. At least we know when we have to fight. If you find a hole you might fit in, fine. But when we will lose against the Valsharess, I make sure I survive until I find you, wherever you hide. And then prepare to die. Because you will do so at the end of my blades." Her voice was barely audible, just a hissing whisper only she and the duergar could hear. The dwarven woman paled visibly, but Chathi couldn't see it anymore. She turned around and stomped away.

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Valen caught up with her only moments after their confrontation with the duergar. Chathi was angry, that much was obvious to him. She cursed under her breath, stabbing at the air with her shortsword. He hesitated for a moment, but then he placed his hand on her right shoulder, bringing her to a halt, turning her around. Her face was crunched up in anger, few tears in her glowing red eyes.

"These damn cowards!" she burst out, whipping away the tears with the back of her hand. "Instead of arming themselves and fighting, they pretend and close their eyes! Shame on them!" With a hiss she bared her teeth. Valen saw that not only two, but four of her teeth were so sharp and pointed. Like the fangs of a wild animal.

"This is the way of the duergar." He stated, staring at her teeth. It was mesmerizing. Indeed, no tiefling looked like another. Her horns were completely different and she had no tail. "They are a band of rogues, striking from behind and allying with no one." The warrior paused a moment. "Just like the drow." He completed, grinning awkwardly.

Chathi shook her head, her hands clenched to tight fists. "What's the point in fleeing from an enemy? Even if he is stronger than you, you have to raise your sword and fight to death. If you are frightened, you have not only lost your fight, but yourself as well. I would never flee from battle." With a flinch she suddenly went silent, her mouth shut. She looked stricken, as if there was something she did not tell, or if her words reminded her of something.

Valen looked down at her, surprised that she had some sense of pride and honour in her. He didn't expect that. But the fact that she stopped talking abruptly made him ponder. Maybe there was more up with her than it seemed at first.

To his surprise, Valen found himself quite intrigued with the hidden facets of her. But the prejudices concerning her heritage were strong. For the moment, he decided to leave her be, watching her every step.

Meanwhile, Chathi calmed herself. There was no useless anger needed here. They were already in sight of the door to the Maker's place, according to Fah's scouting. Better to be calm and reasonable, she thought.

"Please, Valen, let us go. Time is pressing and I ache for leaving this island full of cowards." Her voice sounded as if she was in pain and Valen obeyed without complaint. She was right and he knew it just too well.

Dead duergar lay on the ground between remnants of destroyed golems. It was dark and dusty, the air was still and thick. Obviously, the Maker was already dead. Even duergar did not live forever.

Chathi silently went to the corpse of a duergar rogue, gazing down at him. "Serves you right, dying in a dark place at the hands of a stupid construct." She kicked the corpse in a sudden burst of anger, not only once, but twice. Watching her, Valen's sinewy tail unconsciously twitched. Then, without another word, the ranger kneeled down beside the corpse.

"What are you doing?" Valen demanded, stepping up behind her, looking over her shoulder. He grimaced when he saw her, ruffling through the pouches of the dead rogue. "You don't loot him, do you?" He asked, not believing what she did.

"Whatever he has, he doesn't need it anymore." Valen caught her slipping some coins into her belt pouch. Maybe he erred concerning his former thoughts of Chathi having some sense of honour.

"Look," she said, holding something up, "this is something we might need. He certainly doesn't." It was a vial filled with a violet liquid. Chathi popped it open, nipping at it. "Tastes like almond. Might be a potion of invisibility. I once had a pink potion of invisibility that tasted like almond." She stared into emptiness, pondering a moment. "That was in Halruaa, if I remember correctly. They make good potions there. Crazy wizards." With a shake of her head in disgust she got back to her feet, putting the vial into her potion belt. "I hope there aren't any more golems. If this would be the case, I need a new weapon."

"Why is that so?" Valen asked uninterested, he already knew the answer.

"You need blunt weapons to fight golems properly. I have blades. They won't be of any use. Against flesh golems, maybe, but not against the ones made of stone or iron."

"Maybe we'll find one down here." Valen replied, walking past the ranger.

There was a complex to explore.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For minutes and minutes they walked in silence, opening doors and exploring the hallways. Here and there Chathi rummaged through chests, drawers and desks, taking coins, potions or other things she found and thought useful. There was no golem to be seen.

In a fairly large room they found a maul which Chathi took, sensing a minor enchantment on it. She hoped it would help against stone or iron golems.

More than once they encountered destroyed golems made of clay and stone. The two tieflings examined some of them but after a time they stopped looking at them, continuing on their way.

In one room, they finally found a strange device consisting of levers and a control mechanism. Besides that, the room was empty but one of the largest they had seen until now.

"It seems the Maker was also a craftsman." Valen quipped before he walked to the control mechanism, there he bent over and inspected the metallic plate on the side of the desk it was put on.

"Mages are the weirdest people," Chathi mumbled, busying herself with the levers, "I heard of Red Wizards of Thay who developed a machine that could swim under water. Just climb inside, pull the right levers and you can dive as deep as you want to." She pulled a lever without thinking about it. With a strange, flashing sound a huge, glowing number appeared in the air above the control mechanism.

Valen jumped at the sound, staring at Chathi. "What have you done?" he asked frantically, looking around.

"It seems you are number one, Valen." She said with a smirking, pointing at the number now floating above Valen's head. The other tiefling looked up and snorted.

"You shouldn't play around with these things." He scolded her, turning back to his inspection.

Chathi pouted mockingly, strolling toward him and went into a crouch next to him. "You are a spoilsport. No fun for the devils." She complied, examining Valen's tail.

"You aren't a devil. Well, at least not fully." The man replied instantly. Then, as if he was caught off guard by his own words, he stopped his work and stared at Chathi with wide eyes. "What have I just said?" he asked in a slightly terrified manner, holding his breath.

"You said your tail is itching and you wish someone would just cut it off." Her voice was dry, without the joking tone Valen hoped for. Suddenly she unsheathed that black shortsword of hers and sprang for his tail, the dark blade glooming menacingly.

"STOP THAT!" Valen shouted, jumping back from her, tugging his tail tightly against his right leg.

Chathi just stood there, shortsword in hand, a mischievous grin on her face. Her eyes gleamed. "What do you think you're doing?" The warrior asked terrified, taking a step backwards, than reaching for his flail.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then, all of a sudden, Chathi offered him a broad grin and then chuckled quietly, her red eyes glowing with laughter. "Relax," she said while she put the shortsword back into its sheath, "'tis was just a joke!" Her chuckle rose into a laughter, even bending her forward, forcing her to hold her stomach.

Valen's arms went slack, his eyes were wide open and he just couldn't believe what happened a moment ago. Several times his mouth opened and shut again, no words coming out. He was utterly confused and didn't know what to say. Finally, when Chathi stopped her irritating laughter, words came out of his mouth. "You are the strangest woman I've ever met." With that, he turned around and went to the mechanism.

Chathi straightened herself and walked toward him. "So tell me, what have you found out?"

Valen did not dare touching the controls, instead he scratched his head and looked at the woman. "I've seen things like that back in Sigil." He said.

"Sigil? What is that?" Chathi asked, not understanding.

"That's where I was born," he replied.

"You are not from Thay?" Mentally, Chathi erased her former fantasies about Valen born into slavery. She'd never heard of a place called Sigil.

"I don't even know where Thay is." Valen answered, to which Chathi just shrugged, signalling him that it didn't really matter.

"Does it mean that you know what to do with that thing?" She pointed at the mechanism.

Valen opened his mouth, scratched his head again and went silent for moment. "No." He said finally, defeated.

"Well then," Chathi remarked, taking the maul she found previously. "I prefer dealing with things I don't know of like this." The maul came down on the controls, smashing the panel, which resulted in tiny lightning bolts erupting from the mechanism.

Valen flung his arms upwards, shielding his face from the shattered pieces flying around, not believing what was happening here. "You destroyed it!" he cried, closing his eyes when a painfully bright bolt of light flashed past his face.

"Indeed I did." The ranger replied, obviously pleased with what she had done.

"What if it was important?" Valen asked, his arms back down, anger creeping into his eyes.

Chathi just shrugged. "I haven't thought about that possibility."

Valen's eyes bulged, his pale face reddening slightly with rage. "Damn, are you stupid wom---" he stopped instantly when he caught a glimpse of light in the corner of his sight. Behind them Fah growled powerfully, leaping forward and past the two tieflings, crashing mightily against something fleshy. Without another word Valen grabbed his flail and ran to the leopard, looking down.

It seemed the destroying of the mechanism resulted in the teleportation of a flesh golem into the room. Fah had pinned it down on the floor and bitten through the neck of the construct.

"Well, it seems we are not alone here." Valen stated, at which Chathi only gulped.


	3. 3: Hubris

**Chapter 3: Hubris**

Again they waited for Fah to return. Being the most silent of the little group, Chathi send her scouting around, looking for other golems. The flesh golem defeated by the leopard was torn apart after Chathi had examined it. It was the only working construct they'd encountered this far.

"It looks like a flesh golem but it also seems like there was strong magic working here." She poked at the remnants with her finger. "Of course, you need magic to make golems work," she kicked at the construct, "but this one seemed capable of working magic on its own." She kicked again, the construct skittering over the floor. "It's not very heavy, either. Good work." With a small sigh she stretched, relaxing her muscles.

"Maybe it was some kind of guard?" Valen suggested, glaring at the broken pile of controls and metal on the ground. "You sure need one, living on an empty island like this."

Chathi shrugged. "That I do not know. No one walked these halls for a long time. The duergars outside said they abandoned them some time ago. And the corpses of the remaining dead dwarves did not look very good as well. I guess the Maker is dead." She scowled. "Hopefully."

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Fah returned short after. Again Chathi worked her magic allowing her to communicate with the cat. It wasn't a long conversation and according to the leopard there were no other golems on this floor, but she discovered stairs leading down to a stone door. A disabled golem sat in front of the stairs but it didn't moved when she approached. Fah thought it safe.

They followed the huge cat in silence, the faint glow on Chathi's throat remained for some minutes before the spell faded. Then, it was dark again. At the stairs they found the disabled golem, sitting and not moving. It was quite huge, nearly occupying the whole space between the walls of the hallway. Valen took the glove off his right hand and slid it down the arm of the construct. "Mithril," he said, gazing at Chathi.

"Strong magic, I said." She replied. "The Maker must have possessed great knowledge on the art of crafting golems."

Valen only nodded. "Shall we continue?" Without waiting for an answer he went to the door and pushed against it. It opened slowly, with a loud creak, dust whirling around. The stairs descended further and the group continued on their way. At the end of the stairs they witnessed a most unusual event.

Two groups of golems where in the large room they looked at, fighting each other. Silver and bronze golems battled flesh golems, neither of them really winning. Now and then a silver golem used an ability much like a "Burning Hands" spell, burning the flesh of the rival golems. The fleshy golems however fought with their huge claws, hitting the metallic surface of their enemies and clipping pieces of their skin away. At first Valen grabbed his flail, wanting to join the fight, but Chathi held him back, bidding him to watch the fight with her.

After some time, the numbers on both sides were lessened and the flesh golems retreated quickly, slamming a door shut behind them. The silver golems didn't bother following them, turning against the tieflings at last.

"Now!" Chathi yelled, gripping the maul she found upstairs and ran towards the first golem, slamming the maul against its head with such a strength the head of the construct nearly fell off. But it just deformed a little, making the golem turn at her. For a moment Chathi thought she saw something behind the constructed eyes of her enemy. She quickly dismissed the thoughts, believing that it was impossible. The golem raised his hands towards. Chathi reacted in an instant, dropping the maul to the ground, still holding to the hilt of the weapon, and crouched down, skittering sideways and pulling the maul behind her. A moment slower and she were hit by the flames. She ran some fast steps away from the golem, calling to one of her infernal powers. In her free hand appeared a dark globe. She spun around, cried for Valen and threw the globe into the group of constructs. They were engulfed by a black globe that nearly filled up the whole room. A moment later, Valen appeared from the darkness, a bit dumbfounded.

"Darkness! I've never used it before!" he gasped, staring at the dark sphere in amazement.

"It is quite useful. I discovered that quite early." She replied, grinning slightly. "But what now? I don't even know if golems see!"

Valen shrugged. "I don't want to find out." He looked around, pointing at a door nearby. "Quickly, this way!"

They left the room through a door opposite to the doors the flesh golems went through, leaving the silver ones behind. Slowly and quietly they made their way through the halls, not daring to speak or even whisper. Finally they stumbled across another door. Chathi leaned against it, pressing her ear against the surface. She listened for a minute, then shook her head in frustration, signalling Valen that there was nothing to hear. Slowly and with great caution, she pushed the door open.

A silver golem blocked the path.

Chathi couldn't even ready herself when he suddenly spoke.

"Do not raise your weapons. I do not mean you harm." His voice was metallic, without the slightest hint of emotions. Chathi held still. "We want to talk to you. I will take you to our leader." He turned around, walking away, not even looking if Chathi and Valen followed.

Chathi frowned. "Should we follow him?" She asked Valen who merely shrugged. The ranger shrugged as well and they started to follow.

--------------------------------------------

"I prefer fighting against the flesh golems. This maul is just too heavy for me. And besides that, they are a bit fanatic with this big one thinking himself a high priest. I respect priests, but this is a wrong one. And to be honest, fighting them is much more convenient."

Valen tapped his finger against his lips, thinking about his next words. "Well, I believe fighting the flesh golems will be a good thing. Even if your reasons aren't that honourable."

Chathi sat down on the floor and took a sip from her waterskin. They spoke with the leader of the silver golems who bade them to speak with the leader of the flesh golems. It appeared the silver ones were rebels, trying desperately to be free, escaping from the halls of the Maker. To do so, they needed something called Power source, which was held by the leader of the flesh golems, who, on the other side, saw himself as a high priest of the Maker, forming something like a cult around him. He didn't want to cooperate with the silver ones, and thus he didn't hand power source to Chathi. After their fruitless discussion Chathi, Valen and Fah retreated to the room they fought in with the golems and considered their future path.

"I don't like this high priest. He might be evil, but I do not care. And I do not care if the others are good ones, mind you," she added when Valen scowled at her, "I just think fighting the fleshy ones is much easier. I like easy fights."

Valen raised an eyebrow. "Where's your sense for good and evil? Outside you wanted to fight the duergars, saying they were evil and thus deserved it."

A low chuckle came from Chathi in response. "I am not one to fight evil whenever I see it. There is nothing of a paladin inside me. Quite the opposite, I guess. However, duergars are so…" she searched for the right words, for the first time since they were on the island encountering problems with the common tongue, "they do not have any morals. Yes, I think that is the right word."

"Morals? Don't tell me you have morals!" Valen nearly laughed but suppressed it.

This made Chathi look quite hurt. "Of course have I morals. I would not kill children or the helpless. This is no good sport. Fighting duergars, however is…" again, she searched for the right words, pausing a moment, "…fun. They like bullying creatures weaker than them. But in fact, they are just cowards. If you are better than them, they fear you. This is what makes fighting them so good. I hope I get another chance at them." She grinned that wicked grin again, flashing one pointed tooth at Valen, who shuddered in obvious disgust.

"You kill duergars for fun? You are sick, Chathi."

The ranger hissed at him. "You should reconsider your moral codex, Valen. They might proof to be false."

Her words made Valen cringe a bit. During their stay on the island of the Maker he dismissed his prejudiced thoughts on Chathi, looking at her through neutral eyes. He saw honour in her, even pride. And he really thought that she wasn't as disgusting as he first thought of her, when he heard that a tiefling with infernal heritage joined their ranks. But now, he truly felt uncomfortable in her company. The urge to hit her with his flail, ending her pathetic life now and forever grew strong and he was barely able to resist it. He watched her, sitting on the ground, quite relaxed, eating pieces of salted flesh, grinning at him whenever they had eye contact.

Valen nearly reached for his flail, when something in his mind piped up. He heard the voice of the Seer, telling him of the importance of their mission, that Chathi might be the crucial factor in the upcoming war. She wouldn't be very satisfied when she discovered that he killed their saviour.

Oh how angry all of this made him! For months he was everything the rebels could rely on. And in an instant, there was this… this baatezu! And he was forgotten, everyone celebrating this sick creature as their saviour. He truly hated her, hated everything she stood for.

"Come now, my little half-breed. There is a fight we have to attend to." She unsheathed her blades flashing this grin Valen hated so much at this very moment. Chathi felt the uneasiness in her companion and she loved it. She so loved the feeling of making this strong warrior feeling uneasy. "Look," she said to Valen, holding her khophesh towards him. "I have a trick you might think funny." Her grin fading she gripped the hilt of the weapon tighter, concentrating for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, the blade shimmered, than glowed. The golden blade became coated with a light looking black and dark. It was like the opposite of the holy light of divine weapons. Glowing in a dark manner it seemed like the falsest thing to exist. Valen was mesmerized by the black light, which made Chathi grin again. With a flicker of her wrist she moved the blade around. Valen's eyes went wide when he saw what happened: Something came from the blade, falling down. It looked like ashes. The more Chathi moved the weapon, there grew an ashen curtain in the air. Then, without warning, the black light disappeared, as did the ashen curtain. It was the golden blade again.

"Unholy weapon." Chathi explained, turned around and walked away.

--------------------------------------------

They stormed into the halls where the flesh golem hid and opened the battle without warning with Chathi sprinting right to the leading golem, summoning the unholy powers of her khophesh on her way. She ducked away under claws and arms, jumped over golems trying to tackle her down and here and then chopped at other enemies with her shortsword.

Behind her, Valen flung his flail, taking down one flesh golem after another, tearing away flesh and carefully constructed mechanisms. Some heads went down in the process, leaving the bodies running around before they met their doom at his flail again.

Fah wasn't that tactical, either. She jumped right into a group of golems heading toward her, using her sheer weight to pin them down, raking at them with her claws, biting at them. Her style of fighting was not as effective as the one Valen used, but it still proved quite useful.

Especially to Chathi, who didn't bother fighting other golems besides the leader. She raced toward him, grinning widely, her red eyes flashing menacingly. When she finally reached the huge, almost demonic construct he was already prepared to meet her. His enormous claws came down on her, but Chathi fell into a crouch and a sideway roll, coming back to her feet at his side and pushed her shortsword into his flank, tearing out lumps of flesh with the finely crafted black blade. The high priest spun around quickly, his right clawed hand hitting for her. This time the ranger parried with her khophesh, the might of the blow made her wrist ache. But she didn't relent, using the curved blade to slide it over the hand, forcing it down with the movement, cutting the flesh as well. Ashes filled the wounds the blade opened, glowing darkly. It didn't bother the huge construct at all. He just leaped forwards awkwardly because of form, throwing himself at the tiefling. Chathi skittered to the right instantly, whirling around with her two blades, stabbing him twice. But she wasn't quick enough, his claw hit her left hand in the process, making the shortsword fly away. She knew she couldn't reach it in time and so she turned around and sprinted to the back of the hall, putting distance between her and the golem.

While running she put the khophesh back to her belt, taking her longbow from her back. The leader already followed her, closing the gap between them faster than she was able to widen it. She knew she had only one chance, with her shortsword gone and her khophesh not readied. Calming herself she spun around, pulling at the magic string of her enchanted bow in the movement. A sparkling arrow appeared between her fingers on the string. It was a strong enchantment, producing a never ending supply of powerful magic arrows when the string was pulled.

When she faced the leader again he was already in a jump, lunging for her, trying to bury her under his weight. Chathi had no time left. She let go of the string, the arrow flying away from her. Maybe her aim wasn't right, maybe the arrow wasn't powerful enough. There was no time to consider, so she leaped to the side, getting herself out of the golem's way.

She crashed down on the floor, her fingers losing the grip on her longbow. For some moments she just lay there, breathing heavily. Then, slowly, she raised her head, taking in the scene.

All was quiet around her. Everywhere lay parts of destroyed golems, lumps of flesh or pipes and cables. She craned her neck, looking back toward the entrance. There stood Valen, an awestruck expression on his face. His flail rested at his side, the remnants of two destructed golems lay at his feet. He seemed successful. Fah was some metres away, licking at her paws. She, as well, fought her battle and succeeded. But what of Chathi?

She almost didn't dare taking a look. Slowly she forced herself back to her feet and turned around. There, on the spot where she stood only moments ago, lay the leader, a sparkling and slowly disappearing arrow in his left eye. It must have hit something crucial to his existence. Whatever it was, it took the life out of him.

Chathi searched the room with her eyes and then walked to her bow, collecting it from the floor and putting it back. It took some time until she finally found her shortsword. It was in a far corner behind some kind of altar. A liquid like blood was dripping from its blade. Chathi put it back into its sheath.

The fight had been gruesome but she smiled nonetheless. Again she proved that she was capable of battle, even against such a mighty foe that succeeded her in strength and height. But she was more cunning and agile. And she knew, that in the end, only luck let her win. She turned around and faced Valen.

"Thank you for keeping his minions out of my way." He offered him a smile and bowed a bit, then she walked toward her feline companion and patted her head. Fah seemed quite contend and purred under Chathi's hand. "I guess the power source must be somewhere in these halls. Let us take a look."

------------------------------------------------

Ferron, the leader of the silver golems, was quite grateful, even though Chathi still didn't believe that the constructs were capable of feeling emotions. She wanted to continue her path, but Valen spoke up.

"Remember that we need your aid in the battle against the Valsharess. You promised it in exchange for your freedom."

Chathi nearly slapped her forehead. She forgot completely about their agreement. Ferron gave his consent and promised to send aid.

When the tieflings walked away, Valen said to Chathi, his gaze focused on the way ahead, "You mustn't forget our duty here. This is important, even for you."

Chathi shook her head but answered. "Yes, yes, yes. I forgot. Excuse me." It didn't sound honest but Valen did not pressed on further. They continued walking silently, taking another stair down leading into a narrow hallway with some magically lighted torches at the walls. After a while the walk led them into another wide hall. The light of torches flickered everywhere, on the walls were lined up quite a lot of bookshelves, full of old tomes. An enormous desk made of darkwood was placed at the end of the hall. In a corner between some bookshelves glowed the spiralled lights of a portal.

"There is potent magic working here." Chathi whispered. The tiny hairs on her neck tickled her skin. "If the Maker is still alive, he must be quite powerful by now. Be wary."

She just finished her sentence when suddenly they sensed a presence entering their nearness.

"Who are you that you dare entering my sanctum?" An emotionless voice asked behind them. Both, Valen and Chathi, whirled around, founding themselves face to face with a floating skull. There were still eyes in the sockets, glowing mystically. The mouth was nothing but a weird and deadly grin.

"Are you the Maker?" Chathi replied without answering his question. She felt a certain measure of respect welling up in her and she slightly feared an upcoming battle. How she wished that she had time to prepare properly.

"I am and again I ask you who you are. You have disturbed my studies and my work. This is inexcusable."

"We look for allies in our fight against the Valsharess." Valen said, showing himself not as impressed by the Maker as Chathi was. "Maybe you could help us with your magic."

The Maker made a sound vaguely reminding Valen and Chathi of a mocking laugh, but then he spoke in that same emotionless voice. "I do not care for your battles. My magic helps no-one except me. And now stop wasting my time and leave. I already wasted enough of my lifetime with the constructing of these useless golems."

Chathi scratched her head, suppressing her fear and respect. "The golems will never waste your time again. Half of them are dead, the other half will leave the island shortly, beginning a new life somewhere else. You are alone by now."

Valen thought he heard the Maker sigh, but he wasn't really sure. "This conversation is just a waste of time," the skull said nonchalantly. Valen felt his hand itching toward his flail. "Your existence is a pity, compared to my own."

"So what will you do about it? Bite us?" Chathi hissed at him, finding some strength in the rage which replaced the previous fear. Calling her existence a pity? This surely was a way to enrage her terribly.

The Maker never answered, only roared and suddenly Chathi felt strong powers coming from the Maker. "Watch out!" she yelled, pushing Valen to one side and skittering to the other instantly when she sensed that the Maker fell into spellcasting.

Confused at first, Valen used the push from Chathi and stumbled to the side, circling the Maker who was quite focused on the woman, oblivious to the other tiefling. A flaming arrow appeared in front of the floating skull, aiming for Chathi. The ranger ran and dove into a roll, but still the arrow hit her right shoulder. Luckily her heritage gave her some resistance to heat and it only did minor damage.

Chathi couldn't even rise to her feet when the Maker launched his next spell, an Ice Storm. Chathi felt herself hit in the back by a fairly big chunk of ice but got back to her feet and sprinted away, evading the falling ice. She mostly succeeded.

Again the Maker called to his arcane powers and this time Chathi recognized the spell for what it was. A Finger of Death, aimed directly at her. Her eyes went wide and she instantly knew that her adventure will come to a sudden end. She dove behind a bookshelf nevertheless, hoping for better or for worse.

The Maker nearly finished his spell when he suddenly felt a most stinging pain erupting from the back of his head. He lost his spell, cursed slightly and whirled around, falling into spellcasting again. He never finished it nearly. Valen's flail hit him again, breaking the skull and killing the sorcerer in an instant. The skull fell to the floor, rolling a bit, then broke apart.

It took some time for Chathi to realize all of this, but finally she came back from behind the bookshelf, wiping some sweat from her forehead. She saw Valen, smiling triumphantly at her, and the shattered skull in front of the darkwooden desk.

"Again, thank you, Valen Shadowbreath." Her thanks were sincere and Valen knew it from the look in her eyes.

"The Maker is dead and we have found allies here. I think this is all we can do here. We should return to the Seer."

Chathi nodded, but then a chest behind a bookshelf caught her interest. "Wait a moment." She bade, walking toward the chest. The lock on it was average and she had no problems in picking it.

"Looting again?" Valen asked, looking over her shoulder.

"The Maker won't need it anymore." She said matter-of-factly and ruffled through the contents. After one minute or so she put some scrolls, potions and two gems into her backpack. "This is my reward for almost dying. Do you want something, too?"

Valen just shook his head.

"Then let us go. The Seer will be pleased with us."

With a last look at the Maker's sanctum and his last remnants they stepped into the portal, feeling no regret that they could not count the powerful Maker to their allies.


	4. 4: Concerning different Characters

**Author's notes: **I'd like to apologize for not updating in more than a week, but I am back to University and am not quite used to it by now. However, the chapters would come and I hope to update at least once a week. Thank you for your patience.  
Another note on some things I mention in the text concerning the city of Sigil. Although the information about the Forgotten Realms I use in my story is from the English version of the published campaign setting, everything I know about Sigil and the world of Planescape I only know about in German (being my first language). Some names I don't know what they are called in English so I tried to translate them into something I thought would fit. The names I talk about are "the City of Many Doors" and "the Lady of Pains". If anyone knows the correct translation I would be most grateful for a short message.  
But now, back to the tale.

**Chapter 4: Concerning different Characters**

The campsite of the duergar was empty. No hints where found indicating that they even were there. Everything Chathi and Valen saw when they met the dwarven group was gone. Tents, fire sites, racks; nothing remained. Chathi shook her head.

"They must have left shortly after we came through. Not even a day passed and they fled. Cowards." She spat on the ground in disgust and continued to where they left Cavallas.

He was not there.

Chathi looked around, searched for a sign that this was the wrong place. It wasn't. "Traitor?" She asked Valen with a puzzled look on her face. "Maybe he fled with the duergars?" Her eyes immediately seemed afire, glowing with rage.

"I don't think he betrayed us. He has other duties. We are not the only ones relying on his services. He will come back, I am sure." Valen tried to look confidently, but failed badly.

"Hopefully you are right." Chathi remarked and put her backpack to the ground. "It seems we are stuck for a while. Perfect." She rummaged through her pack and finally found a piece of dried fruit. "I really need a rest. This stupid skull hurt me with his spells. I hate sorcerers and the likes." With a sigh, she sat down, leaning against a rock, gnawing on her piece of fruit.

"So we take a rest, then." Valen said and started putting off some parts of his armour, except for his breast plate.

"It must be quite uncomfortable, wearing this thing all day." Chathi stated, looking up from her food. "I could not wear these. I rely on light armour."

"You are cunning. You turn and crouch, jump and roll, always looking for an opportunity to hit the enemy where he is uncovered, hoping that he wouldn't hit you the same time. I fight openly, face to face. The honourable way." Valen straightened his shoulders, seeming very proud of his style of fighting.

Chathi, on the other side, just laughed at him. "That might be true, but it surely is more fun watching me in battle. Two people hitting each other on the head? This isn't very elegant. Not at all."

Valen returned the laughter. "The way the rogue would fight. What happens if you have to fight your enemy in a narrow walk? Where you cannot whirl around or slide to his side unhindered. You would fail."

"Than," Chathi replied, pointing at the bow she laid down next to her, "I would snipe him down before he ever sees me."

The warrior looked down at the longbow. Yes, her bow. What an amazing enchanted weapon. When she used it against the leader of the flesh golems he had a chance to watch. It was made from some kind of blue wood and it had no string at all. But when she needed it, the string appeared magically, shining silvery. It appeared in her fingers and she could pull it immediately. And then the arrow appeared. A sparkling missile, which disappeared after it had hit its target. Whoever made this weapon, he must be amazing at his work.

"This bow," he started after some moments of silence, nodding towards the weapon, "how do you aim with it? I saw that the arrow appears after you took aim. It must be quite difficult to use it."

Chathi touched the surface of the bow with her right hand, smiling at it. "It isn't half as difficult as it seems. The bow helps me. I cannot describe it. When I aim, I know where the arrow will appear. I can sense it. And that helps."

Valen nodded. "Where did you learn it? Fighting with your blades and with the bow, I mean. I've never seen a weapon like this unholy blade you wield."

The ranger stood up and took her khopesh from her belt, holding it in front of her. With a slight flinch of her wrist the blade gloomed again in that black, sickening light. Like before in the halls of the Maker, she moved the weapon through the air, the ashen curtain erecting a wall between her and Valen through which he could hardly see her. With another flinch of her wrist, the enchantment was gone in an instant.

"Telling you about this weapon means telling you about my past." She scowled at Valen. "I would give you information on a topic very personal. It seems that we are from two different worlds. I was born on Toril and never saw another plane. You," she pointed at Valen with her khopesh, "told me you were born in Sigil. I do not know of a place called Sigil. It is not located in Thay, or in Unther, for that matter. Or in Mulhorand, where I was born. However, these three countries are known for abyssal, infernal and celestial half-breeds. It is almost certain that a tiefling born in another country would be killed immediately after birth, because of the horrified parents. Faerûnian deities will never mate with mortals. And only few would share the bed with devils, demons or angels. Thus, I guess you are not from this plane."

The look she gave him was superior. She proved that she possessed some knowledge and it seemed that she thought it was something special. Still, Valen was impressed, though a bit disappointed that she had ever heard of Sigil. He went quiet for minutes, pondering what to do next. There wasn't any sign of Cavallas. With a look at Chathi he made a decision.

"Maybe it is time to trade some stories." His words put a surprised look on Chathi's features. "Both of us proved our value in this task. I would like to hear about your country, where you learned fighting the way you fight and why you left your country. In exchange, I would tell you a tale or two about myself."

Again there was silence. Chathi seemed stricken, unsure what she should do. Finally, she took a breath and turned toward Valen. "Promise me that you will never call me baatezu in this disgusted tone and we have a deal. Otherwise I am not interested." Her look was stern and it was clear that she would not accept a no.

But she probably was right. They were on the same side here and his private dispute could wait until the immediate problem was solved.

Valen nodded his agreement.

"Fine." Chathi nodded as well. Her features softened visibly. "About this weapon," she raised the curved blade, then put it down again, "it is a khopesh. A weapon quite common in Mulhorand. It is used instead of the longsword, which is popular throughout Faerûn. But not in Mulhorand."

"What's so special about Mulhorand? I get the feeling everything is different in this country." Valen gave her a lopsided grin.

The stern look on her face reappeared. "Do not make fun of Mulhorand. The Mulan are proud and arrogant people. Indeed, they think of Mulhorand as something special. But see, it is quite an ancient empire, one of the oldest on all of Faerûn. Its capital, Skuld it's called, is the oldest constantly inhabited city in Faerûn. And it never was invaded." She spoke these words with great pride and Valen understood that although she wasn't fully Mulan she certainly felt like one.

"Please, continue." He bade her and she nodded.

"I got the khopesh from my father. The mortal part of my parents. To fight with it, I learned at the temple of Set, where I dwelt for some years. To fight with khopesh and shortsword, I learned from my next master, a ranger. He also taught me to use the bow. And everything else I need to know as a ranger. Though there doesn't exist a word for ranger in the Mulhorandi tongue. The forests are few and human guardians of them are unknown. But what I did would be what a ranger would do. So I call myself ranger. Now it's your turn." Valen looked startled. "I told you what you wanted to know. Now you answer a question of mine."

Now he understood, because he nodded. "Then ask and I will answer if I can."

"Tell me," she stared at a point behind Valen, "tell me about Sigil. Tell me where it is, what it is like to live there. I want to know."

With another nod, Valen began his tale. "Sigil is the capital of a world called Planescape. It is indeed located on a different plane than Toril. Almost every planetar walked its street at some point of her life. I am sure you will lay eyes on it sooner or later, because reaching it isn't as difficult as reaching other planes. Sigil is also called the City of Many Doors. Portals to almost every existing plane can be found there, though it is quite difficult to find exactly the portal you need. And," a dreamy grin appeared on his face, "you might walk through a door to your favourite tavern and you might find yourself on the plane of fire, because you passed a portal and didn't know it. It is possible that the portal appears there one day and is gone the other."

Chathi's eyes widened at his words. "How can one know which way is safe to walk?"

Valen frowned. "There is none to know about. You are never safe in the streets of Sigil. Demons and devils walk there and if they are hungry they eat. And then it doesn't matter what you are. But although you might never encounter a pit fiend, there is always the law of the Lady of Pains who rules over Sigil. She pretty much makes sure that you won't enjoy your stay."

"That doesn't sound like a nice place to travel to." Chathi smiled weakly at him. He froze. The smile was so sympathetic, it showed a side of her that seemed to be buried deep behind her layers and layers of wickedness. But it was gone in an instant.

"It isn't. Not at all." Valen finally said flatly. "Though Toril is an alien place for me to be, I wouldn't go back to Sigil voluntarily. Never." His face went grim then and Chathi didn't press any further.

"I called my khopesh Father's Death." She summoned the unholy enchantment once again, changing the topic back to her own story. "It was my first weapon and I prefer to die with it in my hands."

Valen looked at the weapon, grateful that the talk about Sigil was put away. "Why did you name it like that? Did your father give it to you when he died?"

She flashed him a wicked smirk. "No. In fact I---"

Her sentence was interrupted by the boat they waited for reaching the shore and Cavallas stepping onto the ground of the island. "I am back and ready to take you to your desired destination." His voice sent a shiver down Valen's and Chathi's spine.

"Take us back to Lith My'athar." Chathi answered after Valen gave her a confirming nod. Cavallas bowed and motioned for them to enter the boat.

Chathi went first, Fah behind her. Valen remained on the isle a moment.

"Come, there is no need to stay!" the ranger called from the boat, but Valen didn't move.

"You didn't finish your sentence." He answered, anxious to hear more from this mysterious weapon.

"Come up here and I will tell you." She replied, leaning casually on the railing, waiting. With a brief nod, Valen entered the boat. "You really want to know?" she asked him, one brow raised.

Valen nodded.

"The weapon belonged to my father who was a soldier in Skuld. To make a long story short…" her gaze drifted away over the water that passed by, "…I killed him and my stepmother with the blade and took it with me. Thus, it earned its name. Father's Death."

-----------------------------------------------

Lith My'athar didn't look any different than when they left it two days ago. The training of the troops continued and the tension between the followers of Eilistraee and the members of house Maeviir grew with every day. On their way to the temple of Lolth they encountered a heated argument between the two groups. Chathi pondered if she should go between them for a moment but finally decided that she really didn't care. There were more important things to do. Valen hesitated. He knew that these little fights in their ranks would slowly destroy this weak alliance. However, he didn't think he was in the position to side with one of them, so he kept quiet and trotted behind the ranger. He wasn't pleased with the situation.

When they entered the temple they were already awaited. The Seer greeted them with a friendly and comforting smile and Chathi immediately felt welcome. She couldn't hide her pleased smile when she told the priestess of their actions on the Isle of the Maker.

"So we can be sure that these golems will support us in the final battle. This is good to hear. You have done well." The Seer nodded at Chathi, then at Valen, who straightened himself in an instant. "However, the defeat of the Maker is another thing. I am not sure if he would have allied with the Valsharess, but although I detest thinking about it, I am sure that you have done the best you could." She stopped for a moment, her gaze lingered on Valen for a moment. Right after he and Chathi entered the temple he took his position next to the priestess. It seemed a most comfortable place for him. "For today, there is nothing more you can do, Chathi." Her gaze returned to the woman in front of her. "You should rest and prepare yourself for the things to come. I will spend some time with Valen and Commander Imloth, discussing our next steps. Nathyrra will attend, as well, I am sure. But you should allow yourself some time to relax. Your room will have everything you need."

Chathi looked at her questioningly. "Am I not allowed to take part in this meeting?" She frowned, not sure what to make of all of this. Didn't they trust her? Was there still something to prove herself? Annoyance welled in her.

"Although we do think of you as a most valuable ally we do not know you yet. The four of us always plan the next steps together. I would say we are-"

"-a good team." Chathi interrupted, her red eyes glowing. "I understand." She clenched and unclenched her fists, then, without bothering to spend any more time on this conversation, she whirled around and went out. The Seer remained behind, looking unsure.

"She tends to have some outbursts, I would say." Valen mumbled after Chathi had left the temple. "But she is quite useful. Lively, but very useful."

The Seer looked at him, a pained smile on her delicate features. "It seems the both of you made a good team on that island. You have to tell me about the past two days."

Valen nodded and left the main room together with the priestess.

-----------------------------------------------

With Fah in tow, Chathi trotted through the streets of Lith My'athar. For the first time in years she felt truly lost. The lack of starlight bothered her, the lack of sunlight even more. In the halls of the Maker she finally lost all sense of day and night and she didn't waste a thought on it then. But now she had time to think, with no Valen around and no immediate danger in her neck. Like in most of these times, she realized that she didn't like thinking disturbing thoughts.

Lith My'athar seemed boring and lifeless to her. To her, the drow in this city spend their time either with martial training or with stupid arguments.

Her wandering continued for many minutes until she reached the market place. There was nothing of interest but she stayed there for a while, looking at some weapons, shields and other items and selling most of the stuff she looted from the corpses and the chests back on the Isle of the Maker. Bargaining with the drow, however, proved quite difficult and she left the market place even more annoyed.

Suddenly she entertained thoughts of leaving the rebel drow to themselves, searching for a way back to the surface. Like she would care what happens to them. All of this was nothing but a simple coincidence. Nothing she had to worry about. She might leave them all and find her own way back.

She thought about it a moment longer, than she shook her head. This was most important, she reminded herself. Three days ago she swore loyalty to the Seer and her cause. And loyalty was something Chathi valued highly.

A loud sigh escaped her mouth and the ranger kneeled down besides her leopard companion, burying her face deep into the fur of the great cat. "At least you are here as well. Though it pains me that I brought you to such danger. Forgive me, my friend."

Fah only purred and put her huge paw on Chathi's thigh. It was a most comforting gesture and for a moment ranger and cat remained there, in a quiet alleyway, taking refuge in their tight bond of friendship.

Then, the door of a house at the end of the alleyway, on the opposite side of a broad street, opened and a small group of drow stepped onto the street. Chathi raised her head and stared at them. She couldn't make out where they came from, so she stood up and headed for the house. It appeared to be a public place, the doors weren't locked and occasionally drow went in and out.

Chathi hesitated for only a moment, then she took heart and pushed the doors open.

-------------------------------------------

Though the rooms the female tiefling entered seemed to her like some kind of tavern, it lacked everything she knew of taverns from the surface, except the drinks. The place was dark, the floor was covered in mosaics in black and blue only visible because of the ever present glow of the fairy fires. The sparse furniture were black as well with more tables than chairs. Most of the drow guests stood somewhere in the rooms while other took a seat in large cushions in the corners.

Quietly Chathi went to a corner and searched the rooms for several minutes. There wasn't much of interest to her. But a proud looking drow female in the middle of the main room caught her attention. The interest seemed likewise. Chathi felt herself observed by the female as well. A chill went down her spine and she decided that she didn't like a stranger watching her so intensely. With her hand on the hilt of her khopesh she approached the woman cautiously.

"You are the surfacer everyone is talking about. So we meet at last. I feared you would never come." The voice of the drow was seductive though a bit deep. Chathi decided that she didn't like her.

"Speak quickly, tell me what you want from me. If you have waited for me you know what you want to say. Do not waste my time, it is a precious thing." Chathi's voice was sharp and she spoke slowly, using every possibility to flash her pointed teeth at the drow.

"Your tongue proves to be sharp, but this won't be of any use to you. I have an offer to make, accept it or leave me be."

"Then make your offer as long as I am interested in the likes of you. Which might not last long, mind you." Chathi replied acidly.

"My, my, my," the female shook her head playfully, "you surely aren't the easy one. So I make it quick. My name is Zesyyr. I am the daughter of the matron mother of house Maeviir."

"And so you are here, in a public house, far away from your beloved mother. How I pity you." The sarcasm in Chathi's voice was ignored by Zesyyr.

"Right now I am merely an outcast. My mother fears me, fears the possibility that I might plot against her, reaching out for the leadership of our house."

"I guess her fears proved true." Chathi said like it was fact.

Zesyyr only nodded. "You possess some knowledge on our kind. Then this conversation will be over shortly. I need you to kill my mother."

Chathi laughed out loud, though it was quite a short laughter. "Of course you do!" she cried, grinning widely. "But why would I even care? These are your affairs. There is nothing of value for me."

Now it was Zesyyr's turn to laugh. "You are wrong, rivvil. This became an affair of yours as well. See, my mother is weak. House Maeviir is weak. When the Valsharess will march into Lith My'athar my mother will be the first to change sides. But I am of stronger will. I will not bow before the Valsharess. Thus my army will fight on your side to the end. Tell me, rivvil, is this of more value to you?"

"I demand something in exchange for my efforts. They are not cheap." Chathi answered without thinking twice.

"What do you need?" Zesyyr replied immediately.

"Though I value information on a certain subject more than anything else I am quite sure you can't offer me something like that. Money would be sufficient."

"You rivvil are mercenaries." The ambitious daughter smiled wickedly. "I offer you gems worth 20,000 gold pieces."

Chathi went silent for a moment, thinking carefully. "What kind of gems?" Her mind was working, calculating, searching in her memories for the gems she knew of.

"King's Tears. Five of them. They are rare on the surface and even rarer down here."

Five King's Tears. Selling them to the right merchant might fill her pockets with even more than the promised 20,000 gold pieces. "Agreed. What should I do?"

"So we have a deal!" Zesyyr clasped her hands together, growing excited. Then she searched for something in the pockets of her robes. "Take this," she handed a small, silver ring to Chathi. "The guards of house Maeviir are loyal to me. Show them the ring, meet my mother and kill her. Be fast and do it cleanly. There is not much time."

Chathi took the ring, slid it into a belt pouch, nodded briefly and left the public house immediately after the conversation.


	5. 5: Fury

**Author's notes: **Chapter number five took quite a long time to write AND to upload. The chapter itself was finished on Tuesday, but the uploading took me until today because of the flu and problems with connecting to the internet. For this, I'd like to apologize. I hope the next chapters won't need this long.  
This one is quite a long chapter with a lot of fights between Chathi and Valen. It also contains a dramatic turn of events that is needed for the further story. I have to say that Chathi was not a character I played Shadows of Undrentide with and thus she never went to Master Drogan's school and never ever saw the Plane of Shadows. So you might stumble over a little problem here. However, I'm working on it and it will all turn out right in the end. I hope.  
Again, I have to thank you for your reviews (especially Chrysanine, I am always happy to read your ones. You think so much about Chathi and that makes me happy.). But now back to the tale itself. Thank you for reading!

**Chapter 5: Fury**

"Then it is the island with the strange town you will explore next. Nathyrra, you'll join Valen and Chathi this time, right?" The Seer gave Nathyrra a questioning look, but the drow assassin nodded in agreement.

"Of course. There is no reason for me to stay behind. And I am pretty sure, they can need my help." She grinned at Valen, giving him a wink.

"So it is set." The Seer smiled gently. "Tomorrow you will leave. Cavallas' boat will be in port and ready for you. I arrange that there will be no other duties he must attend to. Just prepare yourself and rest until your leave."

"What about Chathi?" Valen asked softly, scratching his chin. He wore no armour but a comfortable tunic. "Do you think she will come back? She surely looked quite angered when she left earlier. Maybe she betrays us?"

The Seer vehemently shook her head. "No! I am very sure that she is loyal to our cause. There is no doubt. I sense it every time she is near. Do not worry, my dear Valen. She will be back before tomorrow. There is nowhere she might go to."

Valen lowered his gaze. "She is an unstable character." He muttered almost inaudible. "Sometimes I think she might be an honourable warrior and I even feel a slight respect towards her. But mostly I have the feeling that everything she does is purely wrong." His hand came upwards and he rubbed his eyes. Then, so quietly that only the Seer who sat next to him could her it, he said: "She is so much different than me."

The priestess thought for a moment on the discussed matter, than she bade Nathyrra and Imloth to leave the room. She wanted to talk to Valen in private and the two other drow understood, walking out of the door. Then it was silent for some minutes. Neither of them spoke, both lost in their own thoughts. At last, the Seer put one hand on Valen's left forearm, squeezing it gently.

"You have feared since your first meeting with Chathi that she is the opposite of you. But on the other side, you hope that she might be a good one, just like you. Sharing your morals and opinions."

Valen only nodded with a small sigh.

"Did you hope to find a companion in her? Someone who can help you proving that tieflings aren't evil by nature?"

To this, Valen shrugged. "I do not know. But how I wish that I would."

The hand on his forearm caressed his skin. He felt comfortable. Like he always did in the company of the drow priestess. If Chathi would dare hurting the Seer, he would punish her with death.

"Valen…" her soft voice got his attention and he looked at her. "We know how deities and powerful beings like to corrupt your kind. How they enjoy twisting tieflings around their fingers. But we do not know what happened in Chathi's past. I doubt that she is corrupted to the bones. However, I suspect that seeds of evil were planted into her heart in her heart long ago. It must be hard for her, with so much mayhem around her. Be patient, Valen. Even she will find her path to wander."

For a moment, the silence came back to the room. Then Valen broke it. "She killed her father with his own sword."

The Seer didn't flinch, showing no reaction at all. "How do you know of that?"

"She told me when we left the Isle of the Maker. She turned the blade of her father into an unholy, twisted weapon. I don't have any hopes left concerning her."

The drow female wanted to reply to his words, but then Nathyrra barged into the room.

"I apologize for disturbing your discussion, Mother Seer, but there is news of Chathi. Important news!"

With a nod and a movement of her slender, dark hand, the Seer bade Nathyrra to tell.

"We have word that Chathi killed the matron mother of house Maeviir almost one hour ago. Everyone in Lith My'athar is talking about it. Zesyyr clamed leadership of the house."

"Impossible!" Valen cried out, rising from his chair abruptly and knocking it over in the process. "This cannot be! How dare she!"

"Stay quiet." The Seer advised in her usual, calm manner. Valen went silent immediately, snapping his mouth shut. "Is this information confirmed?"

Nathyrra nodded. "Chathi is on her way to the temple. She might arrive every minute. One of the guards will lead her to you directly."

The priestess nodded, motioning for Nathyrra and Valen to sit down again. Some minutes later, the door went open again and a guard led Chathi into the room.

The ranger looked quite content and pleased with herself. A wide smile was plastered on her face and her eyes twinkled with something Valen could not lay his fingers on. Chathi walked to the Seer and bowed before her. If she had been enraged before, there was no sign of it now.

"My lady, I have news you might be interested to hear. Zesyyr Maeviir hired my services in order to assassinate her mother. She posed a threat to your cause and thus I eliminated her. Zesyyr proved to be the loyal one in this matter." Her smile disappeared from her face and the twinkle in her eyes was gone. "However, I do not like interfering with the affairs of the drow."

The Seer looked at the female tiefling, unsure what to say. Not like Valen who pointed his finger at Chathi accusingly. "Then why have you done that, fool? Do you think the death of a matron mother would be of any help to us? You say you do not like mingling with drow affairs but still you do so? Where's the logic in that?" His voice became agitated and Chathi backed away from him a step.

"She was weak! She would have betrayed us to the Valsharess! I just did what was right!" Her voice was agitated as well and the step she took back moments ago she took forward now.

"What fool are you to decide what is right and what not? You know nothing of the way of the drow but still you dare to kill a matron mother! What of her soldiers and the members of her house? They won't fight on our side now!" Valen emphasized his words with the fist of his right hand slamming down on the table. Nathyrra flinched heavily but the Seer remained calm, following the dispute of the two tieflings with interest.

"You know nothing!" Chathi yelled, shaking her head. "What do you think of yourself, judging the state of my mind without knowing the facts? Most of the members of house Maeviir are loyal to Zesyyr, the numbers of those who were against her are few and are fewer now. You accuse me of being wrong and call me a few, but you are just being led by your ill temper and your envy, you worthless half-demon. I pity you, because you pretend to be something you aren't."

Valen's eyes went wide and his mouth opened, but now words came out. When there was no response from him, Chathi snarled at him with a hiss.

"Enough!" the Seer rose from her chair and got their attention in an instant. The expression on her face was a sad one, but she still looked strong and determined. "Please, be quiet. Both of you. Accusing each other won't help us at all. What's done is done and there is no way to unmake it happen. If it is true that most of the Maeviir soldiers were loyal to Zesyyr, then maybe Chathi was right. The matron mother always was reluctant to join us and the alliance with her was a weak one. Only the future will tell us which decision was right. Just let us hope that the one Chathi made today wasn't the wrong one." She sighed and sat down again. Valen didn't release Chathi from his intense stare and neither did she. Nathyrra and the Seer knew that they continued their battle in silence.

"Chathi, Valen, please sit down. I beg you!" The voice of the priestess was strong and forcing. Without resistance, the two tieflings took a seat and the Seer nodded pleased. "Let us put the matter of house Maeviir aside. There is no time for that now. Chathi," she turned her head towards the ranger, addressing her directly, "you, Valen and Nathyrra will go to the island with the strange town tomorrow. Still, we have much to do and much to prepare. This trip will be the last you will make by boat. After that, Nathyrra located some more places you might want to go to."

Chathi looked at Valen, nodding her agreement. "Will Valen willingly join us?"

"Valen might join you willingly." The warrior replied dryly. It was obvious he didn't join the joke.

"Then, with your approval I will retreat to my room. Though I need a bath as well, but that is another matter."

The Seer nodded to her with a faint smile. "You may go, Chathi. I will see to your plead for a bath. You will be fetched tomorrow, when the time is right. Now rest, your day was tiring, I am sure."

With a nod and a low bow Chathi retreated to the room, leaving the Seer, Valen and Nathyrra to themselves.

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Two hours later there was a knock at Chathi's door. Clad only in a thin tunic she found in the dresser of her room she walked to the door and opened it. A female drow in a light robe greeted her and told her that she prepared a bath for her, asking her to follow. With a brief look at Fah, who was curled up on the ground next to the bed and quite asleep, Chathi stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her. The female, who was so very beautiful like most of the drow, led Chathi through a maze of halls and stairs leading down to a small room with a quadratic pool in the middle. The floor of the room was covered in mosaics, the pool was filled with clean water and some kind of scented oil. The air was thick with the scent of spices and the fairy fires on the walls glowed in a dark green light. Some items like soap and washing cloths were arranged on the edge of the pool, large towels hang on a hook on the wall. It obviously was a bathing chamber and the drow bade Chathi to enter it. After the ranger thanked her, she left with a bow.

Chathi stood at the door for some moments, smelling the rich odour of the scented oil. She became quite light-headed and felt a bit of happiness washing over her. Without a second thought she stepped out of her tunic and into the hot water. It felt good to her and her strained muscles, though the wound at her back, where the flaming arrow of the Maker hit her, gave her a stinging pain. It was bearable and she sank deeper into the water, closing her eyes and relaxing herself.

Her mind drifted away, away from her dispute with Valen, from the deed she did for Zesyyr Maeviir, from everything concerning the drow and the Valsharess. She thought about Sigil and what Valen had told her. With her lively fantasy she made an attempt to imagine this most wondrous city, but though she thought of the most wonderful buildings and creatures she knew that she was far from the truth. Maybe Valen would tell her more of it later.

Valen. His picture appeared before her inner eye and she looked closely at it. He seemed so sure of himself and his actions. All the time he acted if he knew exactly what he does. And what the consequences would be. Unlike her. There was so much she was afraid of. Every move she made was followed by the fear she did something wrong. All her life she obeyed to the orders of others and didn't have to concern herself with the consequences of her actions. Well, except for the day she killed her father and her step-mother. And when she fled to the Dragonsword Mountains. But ever since she has come to the Sword Coast she did everything on her own accord. A fairly new situation for her.

Chathi let herself sank under the water for some moments, enjoying the silence underwater. Then she came back, breathed air and loosed her hair that was plastered on her head. She wore it short since the day she found home in the Dragonsword Mountains. It was much more comfortable for her. She learned her lesson when her long hair became entangled with the string of her bow when she first practised fighting with a ranged weapon.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Now it seemed so long ago that she left her homeland, Mulhorand. How she longed to see the desert plains of this country again. But she was trapped in the Underdark, bound to a cause she knew nothing about. Well, it didn't really matter. The geas forced her to defeat the Valsharess. And the fact that she found help in the person of the Seer made her feel better. Tomorrow will bring the exploration of the island with this newly appeared town.

Chathi reached for the soap bar and the washing cloth.

She certainly was anxious when she thought of the next day.

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"What do you know of Cavallas, Nathyrra?" Chathi stared at the passing water below her, asking her question without much interest. They entered the boat of the mysterious boatman earlier that day, after a small breakfast in the room of the Seer and a brief conversation with the priestess. Valen didn't speak to her at all and Nathyrra made small attempts of conversation. Already an hour passed since they had entered the boat and still no sign of the island.

"Nothing. Even less than Valen. If you are that interested in Cavallas, you should ask him."

"I wouldn't do that. I am not that desperate, thank you."

Nathyrra gave her a small smile. "Is it because of your heated argument yesterday?"

Chathi nodded, still not looking at Nathyrra. This whole conversation bored her and she just waited for the boat to arrive at the island.

"You should go and speak with him, Chathi. It won't help if you two are brooding and moody all the time. I bet he already is sorry about what he said to you yesterday."

The ranger let her arms dangle over the rail. "I am not sure if I want to do that. Heh, I just wish he would stay in Lith My'athar. It seems that he hates me for taking him with me."

To her right, Nathyrra stepped and put her hands on the rail, looking far. "The Seer bade him to do so. He won't hate you for that. If the Seer would tell him to jump the river Styx he would do so without thinking twice. That is his nature."

Chathi turned her head a bit towards Nathyrra, a spark of interest in her. "Uhm… Nathyrra?"

The drow tore her gaze from the things she watched and directed it towards the tiefling. "What is it?"

For a moment, Chathi said nothing. But then she opened her mouth and spoke again. "Are… the Seer and Valen… uhh… well.." She wasn't very good at these things.

"In love?" Nathyrra asked, staring at Chathi with wide open eyes.

Chathi only nodded and Nathyrra burst out in laughter. "Hey, what's so funny about that?" The ranger demanded, slightly annoyed with the behaviour of her drow companion.

"Oh, nothing at all!" the black elven female calmed down to a grin. "I just think the Seer has more important things on her mind than a romance with a half-demon. And Valen… he just isn't the one to love somebody."

At that, Chathi raised her eyebrow. "Why do you say that? Do you think Valen isn't capable of love?"

This made Nathyrra most serious. The two women were silent for a moment, then the drow spoke her answer. "Are you capable of love?"

That caught Chathi off-guard and she didn't know what to answer. For a second she wished she never started this conversation at all.

"Now, what do you say? Nathyrra asked.

But Chathi ended the conversation with a motion of her hand and walked away.

---------------------------------------------------

"The minds of these avariel are obviously very, very twisted." Chathi was kneeling down on the ground in front of a fire with pieces of meat frying in a pan over it and poked at the flesh with a stick. "At least, they aren't hostile. Not that they look if they are able to hold a sword at the proper end." She laughed at her own joke for a moment but without showing a sense of humour. The laughter wasn't earnest and she didn't even try to cover it.

"We probably should talk to the Queen. She might give us one or two clues of what had happened here." Valen took a sip from his waterskin and stared at the grey lump of flesh in the pan. "You aren't that much of a good cook, eh?"

Chathi just shrugged. "It will be eatable. That is enough. If it isn't to your liking, cook for yourself."

"Easy, you two. Don't start a fight again." Nathyrra glared at them and both tieflings became quiet, looking guilty. "Valen is right. We should speak with the Queen. Let us eat and then continue."

They waited in silence until the meat was ready, than ate. It wasn't very tasty but no one complained. Not even Valen.

"The Queen resides in a cave in the south of the town. It seems that the castle is abandoned. Not very surprising in a town full of mad avariel." Chathi nodded at Nathyrra's observations while she cleaned the pan.

It wasn't a long march to the cave. But Chathi instantly stopped her companions when she saw the entrance with a raised hand. She didn't even bother to explain what was wrong, just went into a crouch and moved her fingers through the dust that covered the ground. There were tracks on the ground, the heat faintly glowing in her darkvision. Telling from the colour of the glow Chathi concluded that whoever entered the cave did it only minutes ago. It couldn't have been longer ago than two minutes.

She rose to her feet again and told her companions in a whisper of the tracks. "I have a little trick to use on them," she whispered before searching for something in her backpack. Moments passed. With a slight grin Chathi pulled something out, a device consisting of wires and flasks and weird looking things. "Step back, both of you" she instructed and crouched in front of the entrance, putting the device on the ground and working furiously to place it carefully, working with the wires and hiding the flasks. Then she disguised it carefully with dust and dirt.

"Come on, now. Behind the rocks." She tugged at Valen's arm when he didn't follow and took him with her and Nathyrra, scrambling behind the nearest rocks to hide.

"This just isn't the way I prefer to fight my battles." Valen muttered under his breath but Chathi only hissed at him.

Silence embraced the group. Now and then voices from the centre of the town reached their ears but most of the time they heard nothing. Then, all of a sudden, someone appeared in the entrance of the cave. A drow walked out, casually, then another and a third. Chathi gripped Valen's forearm tightly in anticipation, an anxious grin plastered on her face. Her grip was so strong it almost hurt. Valen just shook his head at the weird half-devil at his side. Does she really enjoy killing others with her stupid tricks? he wondered. But then, with a faint "snap", the drow tripped on a wire causing the trap to spring into their faces. The wires lashed at them, slashing vicious wounds into the unprotected parts of the drow bodies. The black elves tried to protect themselves with their arms, one even raising his sword. But it was of no use when the wires finally reached the flasks, tearing it from the ground and whirling it towards the elves. They cried shortly before the flasks hit their faces and torsos and broke apart.

Only then saw Valen what the flasks really contained. Acid. The liquid burned the skin of the elves, tearing away their features. One put his hands on his face, trying to pry away the acid without success. They were doomed and they knew it. Slowly, they went down.

Which was Chathi's clue. She unsheathed her blades, ran around the rocks they were hiding behind and leaped towards the small group of black elves, slashing their throats without mercy.

The drow had no chance.

When Valen and Nathyrra joined Chathi she stood between the dead drow, her smile victorious. Valen, however, was most shocked.

"I knew that the drow were cruel, but you even managed to succeed them. What the hell were you thinking?" His head snapped from the corpses to the smiling of the female tiefling, his look furious.

Nathyrra cautiously stepped back, already knowing what was to come. She saw Valen losing his temper once and she didn't want to see it again. But now he was unstoppable.

"They were only three! It would have been three to three, an honest fight but you have done everything wrong. Everything!" His voice became louder with every word.

"Careful, Valen." Nathyrra whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder but the warrior just shrugged her away.

Chathi's smile, however, vanished. "I do not understand…" she began, but Valen interrupted her.

"Of course you understand. You've killed three drow and in a way I can only despise. Do you understand that?" Again, like earlier in the chambers of the Seer, he pointed her finger accusingly at her.

Chathi looked startled, not sure what to say or to do. There were so many things racing through her mind but she couldn't make them out clearly. The reaction coming from Valen wasn't really surprising to her, but she didn't expect him to be this harsh. It remembered her quite a lot of their argument back at the former temple of Lolth.

"I saved you trouble," she started to mutter, "it was the most save solution that came to my mind." The ranger truly seemed lost and almost sad. Nathyrra felt pity for her but did not want to interrupt.

"I tell you something, Chathi." Valen crossed his arms in front of his chest, standing tall and proud. He was quite agitated. "All my life was an attempt to live as a good man. I know that the concept of honour is quite unknown to our kind. And I do know that most tieflings are rotten to the core. Heck, I even know how evil deities enjoy corrupting tieflings that aren't evil in any way, trying to be good. But you," again the finger was pointing at Chathi, "you are everything people see in our kind. You are a cliché, Chathi. Everything you do or say makes me sick and disgusts me. You are everything I try to not be and I hate you for that."

His voice was calm and cold. It made Chathi cringe. A miserable feeling grew in her and she felt bad.

"It is everything I know." She whispered, barely audible. "Everywhere I came to people hated me. They only saw the devil in me and didn't care what I really was. I tried so hard…" she gulped, clenching and unclenching the fists at her sides. All the memories of her childhood and of her youth washed over her and her eyes became cold and lifeless. The fire that burned there earlier was gone. The red orbs of her irises were pale and without light. Her nails dug into her palms and small streams of blood appeared on her fingers. But she continued to speak. "I tried so hard to be a good child. All the dogmas I learned, the priests I respected, I even went to the arcane academy like every Mulhorandi child. But it was useless. All I did was useless."

Valen stared at her, almost feeling sympathy for her. So that was her past. Maybe that was were all her hatred came from. The past that formed her character. That made her the way she was.

He opened his mouth and wanted to tell her that everything was okay, that he excused the trap she set, that they could go on.

But Chathi didn't let him. Her fists unclenched and she threw her head up, locking gaze with Valen, the fire returning to her eyes. Nathyrra backed away, sensing that something went very, very wrong. There was something about Chathi she never saw, but she knew it from Valen. It was the same when the tiefling warrior lost his temper for the first time.

"When I killed my father," Chathi's right hand rested on the hilt of her khopesh and her voice became a furious cry, "I embraced my infernal heritage! I didn't care anymore for the human part of me. Why should I? No one thought about me as human, so I became the devil everyone saw anyway! And do you know what, Valen?" The edges of her mouth curled upwards, revealing her pointed teeth, making her look all the more infernal. "It made me strong! I wasn't the weak girl anymore. When I joined the church of Set everyone respected me. I was the only tiefling accepted by the priesthoods in Mulhorand. Why should I care for my human side anymore? The priests showed me the advantages of my heritage and I use them. What's wrong with that?" She leaped towards Valen, gripping him by the shoulders. "What's wrong with that, Valen?" His name spoken by her became a wail. She loosened her grip on his shoulders and sank against his chest and cried softly.

The infernal aura was gone. There was only silence with no one knowing what to say next. Nathyrra wanted to do something, to comfort Chathi or to make her stop crying. But she didn't move. She just couldn't.

Valen, on the other side, fought his own battle of emotions. He was torn between sympathy and disgust. How could she talk of being strong when she was crying now and here, at his chest? What a pathetic little creature was she? He didn't know what kind of deity Set was but the fact that his priests made her abandon her humanity told him that he certainly wasn't a good one. Logic told him that all of this really wasn't her fault, that everything was to be blamed on the priests of Set. But in his own emotional turmoil there wasn't any place for logic.

There was only disgust.

He placed his hands gently on Chathi's shoulders. The crying stopped for a moment and Chathi looked up at Valen. He didn't smile, didn't look sad. There were no emotions at all on his face. He looked perfectly content. And then, without any sign, he pushed her away, harshly and with all the strength he could muster. Chathi tumbled backwards, towards the entrance of the cave. Her red eyes were even redder from the crying and her pale lavender hair was plastered to her forehead. She was a miserable sight.

But Valen didn't care. Instead, he launched his final blow against the ranger.

"You dare to say you are strong? You threw away your humanity without a thought! I, too, grew up under miserable conditions but I made the best of it. Everyday I fight for my humanity, fight to suppress my demonic blood. No one can understand the troubles I face from minute to minute. It is the hardest battle one can fight and you talk about being strong? You are weak, the weakest little girl I every laid eyes on! You call yourself a warrior but all that you are is only a trickster, someone without the tiniest spark of honour in your crumpled soul. You are disgusting, Chathi. I knew it the first moment I saw you. You are baatezu, the ugliest creature in all of the planes. I just knew that you cannot be trusted. You will betray us at the first chance that crosses your way." His voice became silent as death but his tail whacked viciously from side to side. The blue of his eyes looked like a storm was caged in them and it seemed hard work for him to fight against his demonic blood.

Chathi, however, stopped her crying all together. The familiar rage welled up inside her, making her tremble heavily. Valen's words made her feel like a scapegoat, like someone he could throw all his bad emotions onto. And with his last sentence he pulled the straw and the barrier that held her rage back broke.

"How dare you!" She yelled at him, stomping towards him and shoving him in the chest. "How dare you to question my loyalty!" Again she shoved, all her strength coming back to her. "You might question my whole life but never question my loyalty!" Another shove to his chest. "Look at yourself! Look at yourself Valen! Oh, how much stronger you might be would you just accept what you are! Your own fear of losing your humanity is what makes you weak but you do not even see it! You are blinded, Valen, blinded by a perfect image you try to be, but to what use? You are a tiefling, a planetouched being and you should be thankful for that. It gives you powers no human could ever wield but still you are fighting against it. Who is the weakest of us, I ask you! Who?" She shoved again but this time Valen didn't budge. He just stood there like a rock and didn't move. Which only enraged Chathi even more. "I demand an answer, half-breed!" She pulled herself up to a level with his face but he didn't look at her.

It was only a matter of seconds until Chathi knew what he was up to. The knowledge made her smile cruelly at him. "You are fighting, eh? Fighting your private little battle you won't share with any of us. Oh, you know that I am right." She licked her lips. "Valen, dear Valen," Chathi said acidly, betraying her own words. "It all makes sense, doesn't it? Your strength will cease with losing your abyssal side. Never again you will be the warrior you used to be. Doesn't the prospect of being unable to protect your beloved Seer make you frightened?"

With only a single mighty blow Valen struck at Chathi, throwing her away from him. "Stop that!" he cried out, reaching for his heavy flail. "Stop that or I will hit you until you can't speak your foolishness ever again!"

At that, Nathyrra jumped between the two, holding up her hands. "Hey, quit it already! You put as all in danger! We are all on the same side here!"

"Move aside!" Valen roared, reaching out for Nathyrra, when a shadow at the entrance of the cave caught his attention. He froze dead in his tracks as he realized that the shadow was moving towards Chathi.

Suddenly he knew that time was running out for them.

"Chathi!" He screamed, but the female tiefling was perfectly oblivious in her own rage. The shadow was behind her now and despite the heated argument that took place only seconds ago Valen became desperate. "Behind you!" His arm came forward, motioning for her to go away, but it all came too late.

The shadow attacked Chathi from behind, pushing a dagger between her shoulder blades and continued pushing until the tip of the dagger appeared at the front of Chathi's chest. Then the dagger retreated as did the shadow.

For Valen, the world came to a halt. He watched the dagger slipping through the chest of Chathi without any sign of resistance and slipping away again. He watched Chathi's eyes bulge and her hands covering her chest, her mouth screaming a scream that wasn't to be heard. At the corner of his eye he saw Nathyrra drawing her own blades, jumping away and running after the shadow. He even saw Fah, Chathi's faithful animal companion leaping after Nathyrra, taking up the pursuit. But nothing of all of that mattered to him as he was damned to watch Chathi staggering towards him, gripping his shoulders one again and resting herself against his chest. It seemed that everyone was moving like the air suddenly consisted of molten metal.

He looked down at Chathi, holding herself so tightly against him and all he could do was bringing her arms up at her, hugging her for just a moment. Then all her strength went from her and she went down, collapsing to the ground, the blood flowing freely from her chest.

Valen kneeled down beside her, yelling at her to hold on, please, to just hold on, while he searched through her potion belt for something that would ease her pain. He helplessly stared at the vials in the belt, not knowing which one was for healing.

"Which one?" he asked Chathi, desperately. There came no answer. Only muttering interrupted by quickly drawn breaths. She was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

Suddenly, her hand took a hold on his forearm and caught his attention. Valen mustered her, damned to do nothing but watch. Her laboured breaths were interrupted by heavy spasms and the blood just didn't stop to flow. Only now he saw that the dagger went right through her heart. Half of the wound was covered by Chathi's hand holding something in her hand.

"Valen…" she whispered terrified. Valen brought his face towards her. Already there was blood spilling from her mouth. "I do not want to die alone…" A spasm gripped her body, making her tremble heavily. "Please."

He took her hand in his own and placed his other one on her forehead. "I am so sorry," he muttered, but she couldn't hear him.

"Set…" she whispered, her hold on the item in her hand became more tightly, "he is a cruel god." Another spasm. The sight nearly broke Valen's heart. His hostility towards her was completely forgotten. "I do not want to meet him."

The last thing Chathi saw were the clearest and saddest blue eyes she had ever seen. Then she let go of Valen's hand as her head fell to the side.

Valen stared at her, gripping her hand, not believing that she just died. It just couldn't be true. With Nathyrra and Fah gone, he was all alone with Chathi, her body cooling down already.

He felt unbelievable guilty and stupid, making such a fuss in a place full of enemies. It was his entire fault. It all happened because of his false pride. He killed her, because he thought of himself as the better one.

For a minute, his mind went blank and he stopped thinking. He didn't want to. He couldn't. He just kneeled there, besides the dead Chathi, holding her hand and forcing himself not to think.

It was when Nathyrra and Fah returned that he finally moved again. He reached out for Chathi's other hand, unclenching her fist and retrieving the item she held inside it.

It was a medallion showing a curled up snake. He figured out its meaning in an instant.

The holy symbol of Set.


	6. 6: The Devil's Twist of Fate

**Author's notes: **This one needed over two weeks to get written. My apologies for that. It was a hard time for me, with writing block, missing creativity and huge problems in the personal corner. However, when I finally got hooked again on writing, I found that I had so much fun in writing this chapter. I actually like it quite a lot. Hope you'll agree.  
We'll see how regularly I will update in the future, but I hope the writing comes more easily now, after most of the problems are solved.  
Again, many many thanks to all of you reading this piece of writing and even more so to those of you reviewing it. Thank you so very much.

**Chapter 6: The Devil's Twist of Fate**

Her body was lighter than he expected. With only the clothes she wore she weighted almost as much as his entire gear which wasn't very heavy at all. So incredible light that he almost got the feeling that the heaviest part of her was her soul. And that part was gone. Forever.

Nathyrra and Fah returned minutes after Chathi had drawn her last breath, after Valen had closed her eyes and mouth.

At first sight the daggers slipped from Nathyrra's hands and fell to the ground, their clattering being the only sound in the area. She slapped her hands over her mouth, stifling a cry and running towards Valen and the corpse of her companion. The drow stared, her grip of reality slowly fading away. This couldn't be true, it just couldn't.

Fah had felt it even earlier, the moment the life went from her master. The link was broken, ripped away from her without warning. When she saw her former master lying dead in the arms of the male tiefling Fah emitted a low growl and padded towards the tiefling, strolling around him and rubbing her torso against his legs.

He wasn't bothered by it if he even realized it. His fingers took a firm grip on her ribs and her bent knees. She was all muscles and bones and so immensely thin. How one as her could fight with two blades and even parry the mighty blow of a huge flesh golem, he wondered. Where did she take the strength for it? His tail wagged lazily from one side to the other. Maybe she wasn't what he thought her to be. But now it was too late to find out. The first tiefling he ever met and now she was gone. Despite all their differences and arguments he always hoped to get a proper conversation with her. The wish to talk to her, to trade tales and opinions burned strong inside him. And now the opportunity was lost to him.

For minutes the small group stood in front of the cave, not moving or talking. The leopard's grieving was unbearable to Valen and Nathyrra. When they had known Chathi for only days and were already unbelievable sad, how painful must be the loss for the cat? She was completely overwhelmed by confusion. The torn away link to her master left a gap in her soul and she didn't quite understand what was happening here.

Finally, Nathyrra crouched in front of the great cat and embraced her in a tight hug, trying to comfort her. It helped easing the confusion but the pain remained. And slowly a hint of realization hit the cat. Her master was gone. Taken away from her. With another low growl she nudged Valen's thigh with her head.

But the tiefling didn't react. He looked like all the weight of this world was put on his shoulders. His eyes were dull and stared into nothingness. The guilt he felt made it hard to breathe and he wished he could do something to bring her back to life. He would sacrifice so much, even his humanity, if only the guilt will be taken away. But with her corpse he carried the burden of her death in his arms.

From below, Nathyrra faintly spoke up. "What should we do with her? We can't let her behind."

Valen nodded but didn't respond.

"Maybe we should take her back to Cavallas. When we'll have finished our business here we might take her back to the Seer and take care of proper treatment." Nathyrra waited for a response but after moments of silence she buried her face into Fah's fur. No wonder Chathi did this so often. It surely comforted her quite a lot.

"Do you think the Seer can bring her back to life? I've heard of priests wielding spells to resurrect the dead." A tinge of hope swung in his voice.

Nathyrra shook her head slowly and caressed Fah between her round ears. "I believe it depends on her patron deity and whether she has one. If she has none she is probably lost. But I've heard of gods that take their worshipers into their realms as soon as possible. The moment Chathi reached the realm of her god we can't get her back."

Valen turned around and started to walk away, but Nathyrra jumped to her feet and stopped him. "Where do you want to go?"

"To Cavallas. She's dead less than an hour. Maybe it is not too late. Cavallas could take her back to the Seer's camp and return later to fetch us. We should leave at once." His tail whacked from side to side in agitation. If there was a possibility to take the pain and guilt from him, he would reach out for it.

But Nathyrra held him back with steady hand. "There's no use in it, Valen." She spoke softly. "Let us take her to Cavallas and then we do what we are her for. What would happen if Cavallas won't be here when we need him to get us back? We will be delayed and the lives of the rebels and the Seer will be in grave danger. We do not have time for this. A war demands victims, Valen. No one knows that better than you."

He nodded slowly in realization. Nathyrra was right, but never did one die because of his foolish actions. Later there had to be enough time to mourn over their loss. "Do you think you can talk to the Queen alone? I would like to take Chathi to Cavallas myself."

Nathyrra only nodded in agreement and left Valen, heading for the entrance to the cave. Valen got on his way to the port, with Fah in pursuit. The leopard would not leave the corpse of her former master unprotected in the hands of the mysterious boatman.

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She hugged herself in a vain attempt to control her shivering. It wasn't cold but she still felt like the temperatures were below any point bearable. There was nothing for her to do besides waiting. In these grey and boring surroundings, however, she quickly lost her grip on time. She could have stayed here for hours, days or even months. It didn't matter. There was nothing else to do. At first she had wandered around for some time but when the landscape hadn't changed she had stopped. It was grey and foggy everywhere. No mountains, hills or lakes were visible. It was the most boring place she had ever laid eyes on.

Many other beings waited around her, but every time she tried to speak with them, they refused to react. Once or twice someone descended from the fog and took some of the waiting beings with her, but every time this happened, she felt she could not go with them. She just had to wait.

Many, many times brief memories of earlier days came to her mind. For a moment, she even caught a blurry image of a huge, muscular cat. There was a flicker of recollection there, but she dismissed it without a second thought. Whatever the cat stood for, it didn't matter now.

The shivers continued without mercy and she mentally begged for a warm fire, despite there were no doubts that the concept of warmth didn't exist in this place.

For a long time unknown to her the waiting continued. Time didn't matter anymore and as the days, or whatever the measure of time was in this place, passed, she forgot to care. It almost felt as if she ceased existing.

She felt dead.

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"Do not dare harming her!" Valen hissed at the mysterious creature when he laid the corpse of Chathi on the ground.

Cavallas only shrugged. "I won't even touch her, if that pleases you."

To Chathi's side Fah placed herself on the ground, her head resting on Chathi's lifeless body. Valen looked at the cat and finally turned around to leave. If Fah watched over the dead woman, he didn't need to worry about that. Nathyrra was right, they had to continue, no matter what. The life of so many depended on their success.

He never liked Chathi very much when she was still alive. Most of the time he deeply distrusted her, hated her even sometimes. When she only had fallen in battle, slain by a respectable opponent, his grief wouldn't be that painful. But this was completely different. This time, he was responsible for this dreadful state.

With a heavy sigh he went on his way to the market place where he wanted to meet up with Nathyrra.

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The presence behind her felt somehow familiar, but still foreign. Far away she saw someone moving towards her, someone she knew to be of importance to her. But the presence behind her proved to be quite more interesting in her eyes. With a last look at the coming figure she turned around.

There stood the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

Her face was small and pale, her eyes the shape of almonds and the irises pitch black. Her eyebrows were finely painted above her eyes and her pink and thin lips smiled at her. Black hair framed her face and fell loosely on her shoulders, curling upwards there. The clothes she wore where thin and revealed more than they covered. Huge, leathery and bat-like wings separated behind her head on her back, spread wide apart.

"We have something to discuss and we have to do it quickly. Give me your hands." Her voice sounded like dripping honey; slow, thick and sweet. It was charming, mesmerizing and so very seducing that it didn't matter if one was man or woman. Her extended hand was long and slender, the fingernails a polished black and perfectly shaped.

She reached for the hand of the woman and clasped it between her own.

Like a lightning bolt hitting her all her past memories flooded through her, the vast amount of pictures and voices nearly knocking her unconscious. All the things she experienced throughout her life came back to her in an instant. She remembered everything: Her childhood in the ancient city of Skuld, her youth under the tutelage of the priests of Set, her escape to the Dragonsword Mountains and her first meeting with the blue wyrm Gestaniius, her deep friendship with a sphinx and her travels through all of Faerûn bringing her finally to the Underdark. And at last, the memory of her death.

"I am dead?" Chathi exclaimed, for the first time after her death realizing where she was. The Fugue Plane, the place where the souls of the dead were waiting for their judgement or for the servants of their patron deities to fetch them. And then she knew who the figure was that was on its way towards her. It must have been the servant of Set.

"Yes. He is coming for you. Coming to get you and to bring you to Heliopolis." Chathi turned around and stared at the woman speaking. She felt that she was running out of time. "Heliopolis. The plane where Set dwells. Are you really ready to face him yet?"

Chathi's mind raced. She remembered her last words in the presence of Valen, back on the Material Plane: Set, he is a cruel god. I do not want to meet him.

"There is another way, my child." The woman continued, smiling at Chathi, exposing her sharp and pointed teeth. "Come with me. Come with me to Baator. Become the devil you always wanted to be."

Chathi retreated from the woman and regarded her with a curious look. "What do you mean? I am dead. I have to go to Heliopolis. I do not know what you want from me, but I am sure that it doesn't matter anymore." Her voice was full of grieve, realizing that her time had finally run out.

The beautiful woman shook her head with a slight smile on her face. "You do not understand, my child. We baatezu have a deal with Kelemvor, the god of the dead. He gave us permission to bargain with the souls. To take them with us to Baator and turn them into devils. You, Chathi, are invited to come with me and join the infernal armies of the devils." Again, she reached out for the dead tiefling, her smile the most inviting expression Chathi ever saw.

"Why should I come with you and betray my god? It is a sin to do so. Set will punish me if he finds out."

"It wouldn't matter. You won't see him anyway."

"Who would accept such a bargain? I know that mortals becoming devils start out as lemures. The lowest of the lowest. I would gladly serve Set until the end of days instead of becoming a lemure." Chathi retreated another step. From the corner of her right eye she caught a glimpse of the servant slowly coming for her.

"You won't start out as a lemure, I promise, my child. I will take care that you become what you deserve to be. An erinyes. Just like your mother."

At that, Chathi's jaw dropped open and she froze. Then, for the first time since this conversation started, Chathi realized that the woman she talked to was an erinyes herself. She didn't believe in coincidence, never did.

"Who are you?" She hissed, eyes narrowed to deadly slits.

The erinyes only grinned. "You know that answer already."

So it was true. Over two decades she had waited for that moment and know, in death, the promise of her mother to her father was about to become true.

"He told me you promised that you will take care of me when the time is right. It didn't occur to me that the time is right when I am actually dead."

The expression on the face of her mother became sad. "I wished that I could have come in time, but leaving Baator isn't easy, Chathi. So many times I tried to visit you, but it is nearly impossible. Taking you with me to the Hells was all I dreamed of and now it all will become true. When your father died, I tried to take him with me as well. But he refused."

Chathi let out a small laugh. "Of course. He always was loyal to Anhur. Never he would have betrayed his god. All his life he feared that he already did so in raising an infernal child."

"He inherits a good place at the side of his god in Heliopolis. A faithful servant, even in his death. Unlike you." The smile returned to the face of her mother.

"What makes you think I would join you?"

"You have no choice, my daughter. The bargain I have to offer is one you cannot refuse to accept." The smile widened to a toothy grin. Then she rose to her full height, spread her wings and straightened her shoulders. With a loud and clear voice she spoke her next words. "Chathi Fezim, daughter of mortals and immortals equally, servant to Set, this is the bargain the devils of Baator rightfully offer you: Your soul will be taken to Phlegethos, the forth layer of Baator and there it will be transformed to the infernal being an erinyes is. You will be a loyal servant to Lady Fierna and her father, Lord Belial. In exchange, the Lady and the Lord will take care of the one known as Sari Fezim, still dwelling on the Material Plane."

At the mention of the name Sari Chathi gasped for air, but she did not dare to interrupt the speech of her mother.

"She will get the best conditions to live her life as a mortal and thus the Lady and the Lord will mercifully take the burden of your eternal guilt from you. Accept the bargain or go with the servant of Set to the plane of Heliopolis."

The erinyes ended her speech with a slow nod and a neutral gaze at Chathi.

"Quite formal, eh?" her daughter muttered without returning the gaze.

"You do not have much time. Be quick with your decision. The servant is near!"

Chathi nodded and allowed her a moment to sort out her thoughts. Sari Fezim. How could she ever be freed from that guilt? She should have killed that girl along with their parents. Should have slashed her throat and end her pathetic life. Sari Fezim. The source of all her despair, of everything that went wrong in her life. But she spared her, leaving her in a world hostile towards small and helpless children. She left her in the ruins of their home, along with their killed parents. And she fled. All her life she was questioning herself what happened to the little girl she couldn't assassinate. And all the time she knew that what she did was wrong. The little girl never deserved what happened to her, what Chathi did to her. But Sari was still alive. Somewhere in Faerûn, she lived. And now Chathi had the chance to end the torture of feeling the huge guilt gnawing at her heart. She knew that she would accept the deal. Accept the deal and for once take care of Sari.

Her half-sister.

"I will accept the bargain and come with you. Take me to Phlegethos."

The erinyes smiled at her. "A wise decision, Chathi. You won't regret it." Her delicate hand came forwards and caught Chathi's own.

They disappeared in front of the expressionless servant of Set, Mulhorandi god of evil and hatred.

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His flail crashed down onto the head of the female drow called Sabal, which they had hunted for days. She was the one responsible for the assassination of Chathi Fezim, fighter for the rebels against the Valsharess. She was the one they competed against in the race for the shards of the shattered Mirror the Fool told them of. And now, after what felt like an eternity to him, he finally got the opportunity to avenge the death of Chathi, caused because he got careless in a heated argument.

With a satisfying crack the skull of the drow splintered and fell apart.

At last, the deed was done. All the mirror shards were brought back to the Fool who promised to fit them back into their frame. But still, he felt guilty. So unbelievable guilty, he couldn't stop crashing down his flail onto the lifeless form again and again. Desperately, so very desperately, he tried to whack his guilt away. But it was to no use and he failed miserably.

A hand on his shoulder, belonging to his black elven companion, brought him back to reality. Easy, she told him, it won't make it any better.

At thus, he relaxed a little, wiped his flail on the remnants of Sabal, their beaten opponent and turned around, accepting the fixed mirror from the Fool.

Much later that day they returned to the boat that would bring them back to Lith My'athar and to the torn corpse of Chathi Fezim, their dead companion.

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She felt weird when she again felt firm ground beneath her feet. In her imagination, a trip to the Hells was more comforting than the teleportation spells she fell victim to in the past. But her imagination proved wrong. The sick feeling in her stomach was quite present.

"Welcome to Cania, the eighth layer of Baator. How may I serve you?" A metallic and echoing voice rang in her ears, drawing her attention towards the source of the words. They came from a hooded figure with a bony tail whipping from one side to the other. It was cloaked in grey robes, the face invisible. It almost seemed that the figure itself did not have a body. Only the cloak and the bony tail.

"Who are you?" Chathi asked, looking around. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. And despite the bargain, she wasn't an erinyes. Yet.

"I am the Reaper. No one important, but still important enough to manage the portal to Cania." There wasn't the slightest hint of emotion in his voice.

But there was something that caught Chathi's attention even more.

"Have you said Cania? The eighth Hell?"

The hooded figure nodded, his tail whacking.

"But this is wrong! Entirely wrong! This should be Phlegethos! The forth! Not the eighth!" She frantically looked around, searching desperately for her mother. "Where is my mother? She meant to take me there."

"Take you where?" the Reaper asked in his emotionless voice.

"To the forth Hell. To Phlegethos."

Then, as if a realization struck the Reaper, he reached out and took a firm grip on Chathi's shoulder, bringing her to an abrupt halt. "By all means, are you the tiefling that died in the Underdark? In the fight against the army of a drow called the Valsharess?"

Chathi turned around, stopping dead in her tracks. "You know of the upcoming war?"

The Reaper nodded. "Are you the one I spoke of?"

"Yes, but why do you ask?"

The Reaper loosened his grip and rummaged with his other hand through a pouch hidden somewhere under the layers and layers of his cloak. After some moments he produced a weird stone-like device from under one layer and held it out towards Chathi.

"This," he started to explain, his voice still bare any emotion, "is a relic I have to give to you. It will bring you back to the Material Plane and it also will give you back your mortal body. Again, you will be alive and able to continue your fight." He put the relic into the hand of Chathi.

"Why do you give this to me?" She asked, quite confused and uncomfortable.

"I was told to do so by Mephistopheles, Lord of the Eighth himself. He needs someone to free him from the Valsharess who somehow managed to bind him to her service. Since he was forced to leave Cania I've been waiting for someone like you. A half-devil, a fighter against the Valsharess, even more so. You are exactly what Mephistopheles needs. Take the relic and go at once." He pushed the relic into her hand with mighty strength.

"I can't!" Chathi exclaimed. "If I go and die again I will be judged because of my betrayal against Set! Take me to Phlegethos, right now! I can't stay here!"

"You get a second chance. Set will understand that. You have to go. Otherwise, Mephistopheles will see into your life in Phlegethos and make it the worst experience one can expect if you refuse to help him. Take the relic and go."

With a huge sigh, Chathi closed her fingers around the device and rolled her eyes. "I guess I do not have anymore choices left regarding my life. Well, then. I will go and free Mephistopheles." And barely audible she added: "At least it isn't Asmodeus I have to face." With a last intake of air she continued. "What do I need to do in order to get back to the Material Plane?"

"Ask me to send you and I will do so. But do not lose the relic. If you'll die again on your quest, you'll be dead forever. With this relic you will come back to me and I can send you back to life."

"Got it." She answered with a nod. After a minute of silence she looked at the Reaper and bade him to send her back to the Material Plane.

To which the Reaper obeyed.


	7. 7: Ordinary Pain

**Author's note: **Oh wow. Almost two months since my last update. How terrible guilty I feel. I rewrote the whole chapter because I couldn't find a flow when reading it. To be honest, I hated the entire chapter. So I sat down again and rewrote everything. Now I am pretty satisfied with how it turned out.  
This chapter is a bit angsty, mainly because I think that's what you be like, when you are kind of resurrected. There is some more information on Chathi's past here and.. well… uhm… some kind of intimate moment between her and Valen.  
At the moment I have two options regarding how the story ends. That's quite good, because before I rewrote this chapter I had no knowledge of where all of this would lead.  
Enough babbling. I hope you like this chapter and forgive me for the lack of updates. Thank you all for reading this tale. I would like to thank Chrysanine, who reviewed every chapter until now. Thank you so very much.

**Chapter 7: Ordinary Pain**

"This will be our shelter for tonight, my dearest companions. I truly hope you don't mind the cold surface of the stone and the hardness it provides. Forgive me if I have to tell you that the only food I can offer you for tonight's meal is dried meat and even drier bread. But you might find it quite suitable if you consider that the only other option available to you is raw meat fresh from the harpy. It would be a great honour to take the first watch this night. If it even is night. I lost track of time some days ago and I hope you don't mind. And now, I would be quite happy if you just leave me alone, thank you for your attention."

She bowed deeply, mocking Nathyrra and Valen equally. While speaking, she never looked at them, only prepared a small fire and the frying pan, throwing some meat into it and poking at it with a blackened stick.

Valen gave Nathyrra a look that told the black elf that he felt most uneasy in the presence of the sarcastic tiefling ranger that came back to life in a miracle they still don't understand. Since the blood began to flow through her veins and her lungs filled with air again, Chathi avoided them whenever it was possible. She spoke only on rare occasions and when there was grave need of it. Most of the time she stayed in the shadows, looking for tracks or just keeping to herself. The only company she accepted was that of her leopard companion Fah, although she seemed to be bothered by it.

Nathyrra replied Valen's look with a shrug, not knowing what to do or what to say. She examined Chathi, who continued her poking at the meat until she seemed satisfied with it. Whatever that meant, considering that Nathyrra got the feeling Chathi didn't really care.

The young tiefling took two strips of meat out of the pan, turned around and walked away, leaving the rest of the foot to Valen and Nathyrra. It became a disturbing routine to the three of them. Nathyrra watched Valen reaching out for the meat, taking a bite from one strip and crunching up his face in disgust.

"She didn't season it, did she?"

Valen just nodded. "I have eaten very bad things before, but nothing tasted worse than this."

Nathyrra didn't reply.

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Three days ago Chathi returned to the Material Plane. Even though Valen and Nathyrra showed her that she was with friends, or companions, at least, the ranger treated them with obvious distrust and mostly kept to herself.

When they spoke with the Seer, the usual compassion in Chathi's voice was completely gone. Valen gave the priestess a brief report of what had happened in Shaori's Fell while the female tiefling only stood at his side with her fists clenched. Her face was blank, emotionless and paler than usual. Every time the Seer addressed her directly she replied in short and abrupt sentences without looking up.

Her eyes stared into nothingness. Her voice sounded like it came from nothingness. Her whole presence felt like… like nothing.

At night, the Seer tried to talk to Chathi, but she was nowhere to be found. Her room was empty, untouched. Valen sat in his own chamber, pondering what had happened to the woman. He even considered that she tried returning to the surface. At one point he thought her dead again, killed by the geas, but he dismissed it quickly.

The next morning Chathi returned to the temple, announced that their next destination would be the source of the Undead. Then she disappeared again. Valen and Nathyrra finally found her at the gates of Lith My'athar, ready for whatever might come.

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The sound of metal clattering to the floor forced Valen to open his eyes. For a moment he felt so very disoriented, he turned his head several times before he found the source of the sound. At the edge of the stony platform they chose for their rest he saw Chathi, sitting there with her back towards them, her legs dangling over the edge. The clatter sounded again and after the third time, he spotted what she was doing: Her khopesh, Father's Death, resting loosely in her right hand, was banged on the ground by her several times. She banged it down, the intervals between the clatter becoming shorter and soon they rang rhythmically through the cavern.

She will draw the attention of every being on us with her stupidity, Valen thought to himself. He considered interrupting her from her actions, but then, suddenly, she jumped to her feet, took some steps backwards and with a low growl she sprinted towards the edge, drew back her khopesh and threw it far away, gradually loosing her strength and finally collapsing to the ground, banging her fist against the cold and solid stone.

Valen found himself stricken. Whatever had happened to her in death, it sure let its marks on her. His thoughts wandered back to his own past and the many times he wished he just could die. But how would death be like, if those coming back from it suffer so badly?

Chathi's banging stopped and she went completely silent. Valen strained to listen for some moments, then he let out a small sigh and laid back down on his bedroll.

---------------------------------------------

Chathi pulled the string of her bow. The arrow appeared magically between her fingers and she took aim. The beholder in front of her was focused on Valen and his mighty flail, so she had all opportunities for a perfect hit. Finally, she was able to do something useful. Since she had thrown away her khopesh she was relying on her longbow. But during the fight against the beholders and the huge eye tyrant she felt quite out of place. Valen, Nathyrra and Fah did the whole work. Valen, who continually fought through the masses of abominations, thrashing at them with his flail, falling into a wild frenzy that still proved quite useful. Nathyrra, hauling spell after spell at the creatures while dodging their magic in response, even managed to stab at one or the other with her daggers. Fah, the great majestic cat, did her own magic with her claws and teeth, darting from beholder to beholder like a furry arrow.

And she herself, she stood in the entry to the cave of the eye tyrant, her longbow ready but unsure where to start, what to shoot. She was so terrible unconcentrated she didn't engage in the battle until now.

But in front of her was this beholder, its guards let down towards her, fighting Valen. Her bow quivered a bit and she put it down a little, shutting her eyes for a moment before she took aim once again. She felt her knees buckling slightly and she almost cursed herself loudly for being so weak. But she only let the bow sink down again, wiping the sweat from her brows with her right forearm.

The beholder crashed down to the ground with a sickening thud and Valen appeared behind it, the grip on the handle of his heavy flail tight and sure of himself. He stared at Chathi, puzzled and confused because she stood there motionless.

"Over here!" They suddenly heard Nathyrra yell and both of them turned around, finding the black elf pushed to the wall by a wounded beholder. She had no way of escape and it seemed like her spells ran out some time ago. Her hands were empty, the daggers gone. The drow clearly had no chance.

Valen scanned the scene with his eyes. Chathi stood between him and Nathyrra, he wouldn't be there in time. He only saw one possibility to save the assassin.

"Chathi!" he screamed at the ranger, motioning frantically towards Nathyrra. "Shoot it!"

Chathi looked at him with blank eyes, not understanding.

"The beholder!" Valen screamed again. "Shoot it!"

She hesitated a second, but then she spun around, readied her bow and pulled the string.

At this point, the abomination shot one of its magic rays at the dark elf. It was unclear which kind of magic it was, but Valen hoped it wasn't deadly. Nathyrra remained motionless at the wall, her eyes wide she was stunned.

A roar ringed through the cave and with brutal force crashed Fah against the elf, pushing her away from the magic ray, pinning her to the ground.

Exactly at that moment Chathi released the string and the enchanted arrow sped towards the beholder, hitting it and exploding into a shower of light, paralyzing it for an instant.

Valen used this newly gained chance to race to the creature and killed it with two mighty blows.

Nathyrra was saved.

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"What in the nine hells is wrong with you!" He slammed her roughly against the wall and held her there with one hand on her chest, the fabric of her torn armour gripped tightly. "All the time you fought as if your life depends on it. But now…" he gesticulated with his other hand, obviously searching for the right words, "…now you don't even fight! First you throw away your precious blade," at these words, Chathi flinched heavily, but remained silent nonetheless, "then you plod behind us while you should lead us and when it comes to a fight where Nathyrra," he motioned towards the black elf standing some metres away from the scene, "needs all the help she can get you behave like a mindless clay golem! What is wrong with you, damn it!"

Chathi didn't look at him, her breathing was flat and she visibly relied on Valen's hand holding her in place. No words escaped her, not even one single sound. It almost seemed as if she ignored him completely.

"Fine," the weapon master growled, narrowing his clear blue eyes to slits, "have it your way then." And he released her from his grip. Without the support, Chathi slid down the wall and landed on her knees.

Valen threw a last look her way.

They left the caves of the beholders half an hour ago with Nathyrra asking for a short rest to collect herself, but Valen ordered a proper rest, explaining that Nathyrra should prepare her spells anew.

In reality, he hoped to get a word with the emotionless ranger that became such a heavy burden to him. The way she acted these times she wasn't useful neither to them nor to the whole cause. The opposite was the fact. She endangered the mission itself.

From the corner of his eyes he watched Chathi. She was gnawing at her knuckles with her eyes closed. Her enchanted longbow lay at her side, thrown carelessly to the ground after they had left the cave. Fah lay at her other side, the huge feline head rested on her paws.

The tiefling female seemed so out of place it almost broke his heart. He had never felt much sympathy for the woman but everything had changed since that awful moment in Shaori's Fell.

Somehow he got the feeling that he needed to take care of the confused Chathi. He had to talk to her. As soon as possible.

-----------------------------------------------

Later that day Valen decided to slowly approach Chathi who sat far away from their camp, brooding. Nathyrra slept quietly with Fah next to her. Even the leopard didn't feel comfortable in the presence of her master anymore.

Valen shook his head and moved towards the ranger. He slid down the wall with his back and sat down, his left arm grazing Chathi's right shoulder.

She flinched away from him.

For minutes, neither of them spoke. Valen considered his words carefully but didn't know where to start.

"You said you don't want to die alone." He slowly started to speak. "There was a time when I wished every day to die. It didn't matter if I would die alone or in company. Just embracing death. That was the only thing I longed for."

Next to him he heard Chathi hiss sharply. At least, some kind of reaction. Everything was better than her usual apathy.

"But now, I have to say that I fear death. And I agree with you on that matter. I, too, do not want to die alone. But I never realized it, until that moment."

Silence engulfed them again.

"I have never felt so dead like now." Chathi suddenly whispered into the darkness. It caught Valen by surprise and he jerked his head to the left and brushed her with his gaze. She didn't mind and continued. "Even when I was another soul on the Fugue Plane, I still felt alive. I didn't care, yes, but I felt alive." Her hands searched for something in her pockets and pouches and finally she produced some alien looking device from one of them. "The Reaper gave me this," she held it up, but no light caught the surface of that thing and its coolness gave them nothing to see, "it made me alive again, but it made things only worse." The device rolled out of her hand and hit the ground, rolling away a bit.

Chathi raised her arms and stretched a bit, yawning and purring like a cat. Then she laid her head on Valen's shoulder and relaxed.

For an instant Valen was tempted to stand up, surprised by her actions. But he stayed nonetheless, waiting for what would happen next.

"I told you that I killed my father, didn't I?"

Valen nodded. "Your stepmother as well, I recalled."

"Yes. You're right. You are a good listener, my half-breed."

He ignored her choice of words for the time being.

"I had a half-sister. Her name was Sari Fezim. She was the child of my father and my stepmother. Unlike me, she was fully human. Until she was born, my father accepted me as his own child, even protecting me from his wife who hated me for what I was." Chathi paused for a moment and followed the movements of an insect that rushed by. The red of its heat was glowing strongly in the darkness around it. The cavern was perfectly dark and Chathi had to admit that it disturbed her. But for the moment, she pushed these thoughts away.

"It is quite common to slay tieflings right after their birth, if they have obvious marks of their infernal heritage." She gazed at him for an instant. "Or of their abyssal heritage, if that would be the case."

He gave her a small smile because she regarded him as well, but she already looked away.

"But my father was a lawful man. He knew that I was his child and that he had to take care of me. If I had horns and red eyes, it was part his fault. He dealt with the devils, not I. So he took me with him when my mother gave me to him. He gave me a home and everything an average child in Mulhorand gets. Proper education. Even though he was just a soldier he granted me a year of arcane schooling. And all the time he protected me from his wife. I still do not know why he stayed with her. Or she with him, for that matter."

Chathi moved her head slightly, causing some of her hairs to tickle Valen's neck. He flinched a little but she didn't move again. She found a perfect spot in the slope between his shoulder and his neck where her head fitted perfectly in.

For the first time since her death she felt slightly comfortable.

Valen felt her relaxing even more and he decided to leave it at that.

"When I was ten years old, my stepmother finally gave birth to a child. That was the beginning of everything."

Her hands patted her knees quietly, in a weird rhythm Valen didn't hear.

"You need to know, the only reason I could stay with my father was, that my stepmother believed she couldn't give birth to anything at all. She coped with me because she feared she would never get a child of her own. Why she decided to have an infernal one that she even didn't like, well, that is a secret she took to death with her."

His shoulder shifted a bit when he took his gloves and bracers off his hands and arms, but Chathi didn't mind. Her head stayed where it was. Not that it mattered anymore to him.

"Well, when Sari was born, I found myself neglected. Not even my father cared for me from this point on. His only sorrow was Sari, sweet little Sari. He wanted her to become a cleric of Anhur, his god. The greatest honour for every house. A cleric in the family. Even though I had met every requirement to become a cleric myself he never spoke of it. When he talked about taking Sari to the temple and showing her to the clerics there, I couldn't believe what happened. She was only two! Can you believe it! She was two years old when he decided that she would become a cleric!"

The emotion of her voice felt good in Valen's ears and he was glad that she wasn't so lifeless anymore. It felt weird, being glad of Chathi being angered, but, well, the whole situation itself was pretty weird.

He nodded quietly.

"I couldn't take it anymore. At night, I went downstairs and took the khopesh from my father's gear. I felt betrayed, unloved, yes, even hated. So I sneaked into their bedroom and slashed their throats. The khopesh was too heavy and too large for me and it happened to be quite difficult to aim properly with it. My father got the cleanest cut I could manage, but my stepmother got some in her face as well. I guess she deserved it."

She shrugged nonchalantly and again he felt the tickle of her hair on his skin. For a second he mused that this was probably the most intimate moment he got with the other tiefling.

"This night, I spared little Sari. I was sure that she wouldn't survive anyway. So I took the khopesh with me and ran. It was night, I was still a child by then and I knew I wouldn't live long in Skuld. With the blade in my hands I wandered through the streets until I reached the temple of Anhur. The broken spirit I was, I entered it, asking for help."

Again, she paused, gulping audibly. Valen almost knew what would come next.

"They only saw the fiend in me and chased me away. They even threatened to slay me, so I fled. To the next temple. The temple of Horus-Re, the god-king of the Mulhorandi deities. Again, I was chased away. Do not ask me why, but I did not give up and went to every other temple, until I stumbled up the stairs to the temple of Set. They welcomed me. They saw potential in me. They taught me to use the khopesh. And they gave me a new home. And a new hope. But…"

Her voice broke away and she turned her head, burying her face into his neck. He felt slightly uncomfortable but didn't dare to move.

"…they, as well, saw only the fiend in me. And how they could use my power, my heritage. An evil tiefling was the perfect servant for an evil god." Her voice was small, barely a whisper. "All my life people treated me the way they treated me because I was a tiefling. There were even moments when I considered breaking these horns off of my head."

She went silent, pressing herself against his side. All the time he had listened carefully but now he felt thrown back into his own past. Though he despised his abyssal heritage he never even considered breaking his horns off of his head or cutting off his tail. Yes, he wanted to get rid of his powers and his abyssal part, but never of physical traits. He grew up in Sigil, a bustling city full of beings like him. It never really mattered. But it must have been completely different in a society where people are used to the sights of tieflings, but either consider them as something to chase away or as something to use for their own benefit.

He shifted a little and brought his left arm behind Chathi, putting his hand on her side and pulling her closer.

Her arms went around his waist and she pressed herself even tighter at him, not minding the cold metal of his armour. He almost wished that he had taken the breastplate off before he allowed them the rest.

"All the time…" he heard a timid voice from his side, "… I thought Sari dead. I was so sure she died because of hunger or that some filthy thief put an end to her life. But I was so wrong."

He caressed her side carefully with his hand in a vain attempt to calm her down.

"On the Fugue Plane, I met my mother. She told me that Sari was alive. The devils used the guilt I felt because of Sari against me. All the time I thought she was dead. And I felt guilty because of that. Because I never gave her a chance. But what now?"

She looked up at him with great red eyes he could barely see. But he felt the sorrow in them.

"What happens now that I know she's alive?" She croaked, resting her forehead against his breastplate. "The guilt only grew stronger and I have the feeling I gave my life for hers. It feels, as if I had to die so that she can continue living."

He slowly brought his other hand up and placed it on her neck, rubbing it slowly.

"That's why you feel dead?" He whispered.

Chathi only nodded.

Then she stopped talking. She allowed herself a rest in his strong arms, allowed him to rub her neck and caress her side. And he allowed her to invade his private space.

For the first time in days Chathi finally found sleep.


End file.
